The  Modern Vikin 


H.H.Bovesen 

*/ 


THE  MODERN  VIKINGS 


BETWEEN    SEA    AND    SKY. 


THE   MODERN   VIKINGS 

STORIES  OF  LIFE  AND  SPORT  IN  THE 
NORSELAND 


BY 

HJALMAR  HJORTH  BOYESEN 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


COPYRIGHT,  1887,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

COPYRIGHT,  1915,  BY 
HJALMAR  H.  BOYESEN 
ALGERNON  BOYESEN 
BAYARD  H.  BOYESEN 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO  THE  THREE  VIKINGS! 
HJALMAR,  ALGERNON,  AND  BAYARD. 

Three  little  lovely  Viking* 

Came  sailing  over  the  sea, 
From  a  fair  and  distant  country > 

And  put  into  port  with  me. 

The  first — how  well  I  remember — 

Sir  Hjalmar  was  he  hight. 
With  a  lusty  Norseland  war-whoop, 

He  came  in  the  dead  of  night. 

He  met  my  respectful  greeting 

With  a  kick  and  a  threatening  frown ; 

He  pressed  all  the  house  in  his  service. 
And  turned  it  upside-down. 

M69927S 


VI 


He  thrust,  when  I  meekly  objected, 
A  clinched  little  fist  in  my  face ; 

I  had  no  choice  but  surrender ; 

And  give  him  charge  of  the  place. 

He  heeded  no  creature's  pleasure  ; 

But  oft,  with  a  conqueror's  right, 
He  sang  in  the  small  hours  of  morning. 

And  dined  in  the  middle  of  night. 

And  oft,  to  amuse  his  Highness — 

For  naught  we  feared  as  his  frowns*-* 

We  bleated  and  barked  and  bellowed, 
And  danced  like  circus-clowns. 

Then  crowed  with  delight  our  despot ; 

So  well  he  liked  his  home, 
He  summoned  his  brother,  Algie, 

From  the  realm  beyond  the  foam. 

And  he  is  a  laughing  tyrant, 
With  dimples  and  golden  curls ; 

He  stole  a  march  on  our  heart-gates, 
And  made  us  his  subjects  and  churls. 

He  rules  us  gayly  and  lightly, 
With  smiles  and  cajoling  arts  ; 

He  went  into  winter-quarters 

In  the  innermost  nooks  of  our  hearts. 


vu 

And  Bayard,  the  last  of  my  Vikings, 

As  chivalrous  as  your  name  / 
With  your  sturdy  and  quaint  little  figure, 

What  havoc  you  wrought  when  you  came! 

There's  a  chieftain  in  you — a  leader 

Of  men  in  some  glorious  path — 
for  dauntless  you  are,  and  imperious, 

And  dignified  in  your  wrath. 

You  vain  and  stubborn  and  tender 

Fair  son  of  the  valiant  North, 
With  a  voice  like  the  storm  and  the  north-wind, 

When  it  sweeps  from  the  glaciers  forth. 

With  the  tawny  sheen  in  your  ringlets, 
And  the  Norseland  light  in  your  eyes, 

Where  oft,  when  my  tale  is  mournful. 
The  tears  unbidden  arise. 


For  my  Vikings  love  song  and  saga, 
Like  their  conquering  fathers  of  old} 

And  these  are  some  of  the  stories 
To  the  three  little  tyrants  I  told. 


CONTENTS. 


THARALD'S  OTTER,   .  .  . 

BETWEEN  SEA  AND  SKY,      .  . 

MIKKEL,         . 

THE  FAMINE  AMONG  THE  GNOMES, 
How  BERNT  WENT  WHALING, 
THE  COOPER  AND  THE  WOLVES,     . 
MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE, 
THORWALD  AND  THE  STAR-CHILDREN, 
BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS,        . 
A  NEW  WINTER  SPORT, 
THE  SKERRY  OF  SHRIEKS,  .  . 

FIDDLE-JOHN'S  FAMILY,      •  . 


PAGff 

I 
17 


79 

91 
102 
128 

H7 
165 
182 
211 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

BETWEEN  SEA  AND  SKY Frontispiece 

PAGE 
THE   BARON  SPRANG  UP   WITH  AN    EXCLAMATION   OF  FRIGHT  ...         76 

NORWEGIAN  SKEE-RUNNERS 178 

IN  BATTERY  PARK ,          260 


THARALD'S  OTTER. 

THARALD  and  his  brother  Anders  were  bathing  one  day 
in  the  lake.  The  water  was  deliciously  warm,  and  the 
two  boys  lay  quietly  floating  on  their  backs,  paddling 
gently  with  their  hands.  All  of  a  sudden  Tharald  gave 
a  scream.  A  big  trout  leaped  into  the  air,  and  almost  in 
the  same  instant  a  black,  shiny  head  rose  out  of  the 
water  right  between  his  knees.  The  trout,  in  its  de- 
scent, gave  him  a  slap  of  its  slimy  tail  across  his  face. 
The  black  head  stared  out  at  him,  for  a  moment,  with 
an  air  of  surprise,  then  dived  noiselessly  into  the  deep. 

Anders  hurried  to  shore  as  rapidly  as  arms  and  legs 
would  propel  him. 

"  It  was  the  sea-serpent,"  said  he. 

He  was  so  frightened  that  he  grew  almost  numb ;  his 
breath  stuck  in  his  throat,  and  the  blood  throbbed  in  his 
ears. 

"  Oh,  you  sillibub  !  "  shouted  his  brother  after  him,  "  it 
was  an  otter  chasing  a  salmon-trout.  The  trout  will 
always  leap,  when  chased." 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  when,  but  a  few  rods  from 
Anders,  appeared  the  black,  shiny  head  again,  this  time 
with  the  trout  in  its  mouth. 


2  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

"  He  has  his  lair  somewhere  around  here,"  said  Thar- 
aid ;  "  let  us  watch  him,  and  see  where  he  is  going." 

The  otter  was  nearing  the  shore.  He  swam  rapidly, 
with  a  slightly  undulating  motion  of  the  body,  so  that. 
at  a  distance,  he  might  well  have  been  mistaken  for  a 
large  water-snake.  When  he  had  reached  the  shore,  he 
dragged  the  fish  up  on  the  sand,  spied  cautiously  about 
him,  to  see  if  he  was  watched,  and  again  seizing  the  trout 
slid  into  the  underbrush.  There  was  something  so  de- 
lightfully wild  and  wary  about  it  that  the  boys  felt  the 
hunter's  passion  aroused  in  them,  and  they  could  scarce!* 
take  the  time  to  fling  on  their  clothes  before  starting  in 
pursuit.  Like  Indians,  they  crept  on  hands  and  feet  over 
the  mossy  ground,  bent  aside  the  bushes,  and  peereo 
cautiously  between  the  leaves. 

"  Sh — sh — sh  !  we  are  on  the  track,"  whispered  Thai- 
aid,  stooping  to  smell  the  moss.  "He  has  been  here 
within  a  minute." 

"  Here  is  a  drop  of  fish-blood,"  answered  Anders,  point- 
ing to  a  twig,  over  which  the  fish  had  evidently  been 
dragged. 

"  Serves  him  right,  the  rascal,"  murmured  his  elder 
brother. 

"  If  we  haven't  got  him  now,  my  name  is  not  Anders." 
whispered  the  younger. 

They  had  advanced  about  fifty  rods  from  the  water, 
when  their  attention  was  arrested  by  two  faint  track> 
among  the  stones — so  faint,  indeed,  that  no  eyes  but 
those  of  a  hunter  would  have  discovered  them.  A 
strange  pungent  odor,  as  of  something  wild,  pervaded  the 


THARAL&S   OTTER.  3 

air ;  the  whirring  of  the  crickets  in  the  tree-tops  seemed 
hushed  and  timid,  and  little  silent  birds  hopped  about  in 
the  elder-bushes  as  if  afraid  to  make  a  noise. 

The  boys  lay  down  flat  on  the  ground,  and  following 
the  two  tracks,  discovered  that  they  converged  toward  a 
frowsy-looking  juniper-bush  which  grew  among  the  roots 
of  a  big  old  pine.  Very  cautiously  they  bent  the  bush 
aside. 

What  was  that  ?  There  stood  the  old  otter,  tearing 
away  at  his  trout,  and  three  of  the  prettiest  little  black 
things  your  eyes  ever  fell  upon  were  gambolling  about 
him,  picking  up  bits  of  the  fish,  and  slinging  them  about 
in  their  efforts  to  swallow. 

The  boys  gave  a  cry  of  delight.  But  the  otter — what 
do  you  think  he  did  ?  He  showed  a  set  of  very  ugly 
teeth,  and  spat  like  an  angry  cat.  It  was  evidently  not 
advisable  to  molest  him  with  bare  hands. 

In  hot  haste  Tharald  and  Anders  by  their  united 
weight  broke  off  a  young  elder-tree  and  stripped  off  the 
leaves.  Now  they  could  venture  a  battle.  Eagerly  they 
pulled  aside  the  juniper.  But  alas,  Mr.  Otter  was  gone, 
and  had  taken  his  family  with  him. 

To  track  him  through  the  tangled  underbrush,  where  he 
probably  knew  a  hundred  hiding-places,  would  be  a  hope- 
less task.  The  boys  were  about  to  return,  baffled  and 
disappointed,  to  the  lake,  when  it  occurred  to  Tharald  to 
explore  the  den. 

There  was  a  hole  under  the  tree-root,  just  big  enough 
to  put  a  fist  through,  and,  without  thought  of  harm,  the 
boy  flung  himself  down  and  thrust  his  arm  in  to  the  very 


4  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

elbow.  He  fumbled  about  for  a  moment — ah,  what  was 
that  ? — something  soft  and  hairy,  that  slipped  through 
his  fingers.  Tharald  made  a  bold  grab  for  it — then  with 
a  yell  of  pain  pulled  out  his  hand.  The  soft  thing  fol- 
lowed, but  its  teeth  were  not  soft.  As  Tharald  rose  to 
his  feet,  there  hung  a  tiny  otter  with  its  teeth  locked 
through  the  fleshy  part  of  his  hand,  at  the  base  of  the 
thumb. 

"  Look  here,  now,"  cried  his  brother ;  "  sit  down 
quietly,  and  I  will  soon  rid  you  of  the  little  beast." 

Tharald,  clinching  his  teeth,  sat  down  on  a  bowlder. 
Anders  drew  his  knife. 

"  No,  I  thank  you,"  shouted  Tharald,  as  he  saw  the 
knife,  "  I  can  do  that  myself.  I  don't  want  you  to  harm 
him." 

"  I  don't  intend  to  harm  him,"  said  Anders.  "  I  only 
want  to  force  his  mouth  open." 

To  this  Tharald  submitted.  The  knife  was  carefully 
inserted  at  the  corner  of  the  little  monster's  mouth,  when 
lo !  he  let  the  hand  go,  and  snapped  after  the  knife-blade. 
Anders  quickly  threw  his  hat  over  him,  and  held  it  down 
with  his  knees,  while  he  tore  a  piece  off  the  lining  of  his 
coat  to  bandage  his  brother's  wound.  Then  they  trudged 
home  together  with  the  otter  imprisoned  in  the  hat 

You  would  scarcely  have  thought  that  "  Mons  " — for 
that  became  the  otto's  name — would  have  made  a  pleas- 
ant companion  ;  but  strange  as  it  may  seem,  he  improved 
much,  as  soon  as  he  got  into  civilized  society.  He  soon 
learned  that  it  was  not  good-manners  to  snarl  and  show 


THARAL&S   OTTER.  5 

his  teeth  when  politely  addressed,  and  if  occasionally  he 
forgot  himself,  he  got  a  little  tap  on  the  nose  which  quick- 
ened his  memory.  He  was  scarcely  six  inches  long  when 
he  was  caught,  not  reckoning  the  tail ;  and  so  sleek  and 
nimble  and  glossy,  that  it  was  a  delight  to  handle  him 
His  fur  was  of  a  very  dark  brown,  and  when  it  was  wet 
looked  black.  It  was  so  dense  that  you  could  not,  by 
pulling  the  hair  apart,  get  the  slightest  glimpse  of  the 
skin.  But  the  most  remarkable  things  about  Mons  were 
the  webs  he  had  between  his  toes,  and  his  long  glossy 
whiskers.  Of  the  latter  he  was  particularly  proud  ;  he 
would  allow  no  one  to  touch  them. 

Tharald  taught  him  a  number  of  tricks,  which  Mons 
learned  with  astonishing  ease.  He  was  so  intelligent 
that  Sultan,  the  bull-terrier,  grew  quite  jealous  of  him. 

Inquisitiveness  seemed  to  be  the  strongest  trait  in 
Mons's  character.  His  curiosity  amounted  to  an  over- 
mastering passion.  There  was  no  crevice  that  he  did  riot 
feel  called  upon  to  investigate,  no  hole  which  he  did  not 
suspect  of  hiding  some  interesting  secret.  Again  and 
again  he  made  explorations  in  the  flour-barrel,  and  came 
out  as  white  as  a  miller.  Once,  for  the  sake  of  variety, 
he  put  his  nose  into  the  inkstand,  and  in  attempting  to 
withdraw  it,  poured  the  contents  over  his  head. 

In  the  part  of  Norway  where  Tharald's  father  lived, 
the  people  added  largely  to  their  income  by  salmon- 
fishing.  Nay,  those  who  had  no  land  made  their  living 
entirely  by  fishing  and  shooting.  Every  spring  the  salmon 
migrated  from  the  sea  into  the  rivers,  to  deposit  their 
spawn ;  you  could  see  their  young  darting  in  large  schools 


6  THE  MODERN  V1KIKGS. 

over  the  pebbles  in  the  shallows  of  the  streams,  pursued 
by  the  big  fishes  that  preyed  upon  them.  Then  the 
perch  and  the  trout  grew  fat,  and  the  pike  and  the  pick- 
erel made  royal  meals  out  of  the  perch  and  trout.  All 
along  the  coast  lay  English  schooners,  ready  to  buy  up 
the  salmon  and  carry  it  on  ice  to  London.  Everywhere 
there  was  life  and  traffic  ;  everybody  felt  prosperous  and 
in  good-humor. 

It  was  during  this  season  that  Tharald  one  day  walked 
down  to  the  lake  to  try  his  luck  with  a  fly.  It  had  been 
raining  during  the  night ;  and  the  trees  along  the  shore 
shivered  and  shook  down  showers  of  raindrops.  The 
only  trouble  was  that  the  water  was  so  clear  that  you 
could  see  the  bottom,  which  sloped  gently  outward  for 
fifty  or  a  hundred  feet.  Mons,  who  was  now  a  year  old, 
was  sitting  in  his  usual  place  on  Tharald's  shoulder,  and 
was  gazing  contentedly  upon  the  smiling  world  which 
surrounded  him.  He  was  so  fond  of  his  master,  now, 
that  he  followed  him  like  a  dog,  and  could  not  bear  to 
be  long  away  from  him. 

"  Mons/'  said  Tharald,  after  having  vainly  thrown  the 
alluring  fly  a  dozen  times  into  the  river,  "  I  think  this  is 
a  bad  day  for  fishing  ;  or  what  do  you  think  ?  " 

At  that  very  instant  a  big  salmon-trout — a  six-pounder 
at  the  very  least — leaped  for  the  fly,  and  with  a  splash 
of  its  tail  sent  a  shower  of  spray  shoreward.  The  line 
flew  with  a  hum  from  the  reel,  and  Tharald  braced  him- 
self to  "play"  the  fish,  until  he  should  tire  him  suf- 
ficiently to  land  him. 

But  the  trout  was  evidently  of  a  different  mind.     He 


THAR  ALPS   OTTER.  7 

sprang  out  of  the  water,  and  his  beautiful  spotted  sides 
gleamed  in  the  sun. 

That  was  a  sight  for  Mons  !  Before  his  master  could 
prevent  him,  he  plunged  from  his  shoulder  into  the 
lake,  and  shot  through  the  clear  tide  like  a  black  arrow. 
The  trout  saw  him  coming,  and  made  a  desperate 
leap  ! 

The  line  snapped  ;  the  trout  was  free  1 

Free  !  It  was  delightful  to  see  Mons's  supple  body  as 
it  glided  through  the  water,  bending  upward,  downward, 
sideward,  with  amazing  swiftness  and  ease.  His  two  big 
eyes  (which  were  conveniently  situated  so  near  the  tip 
of  his  nose  that  he  could  see  in  every  direction  with 
scarcely  a  turn  of  the  head)  peered  watchfully  through 
the  transparent  tide,  keeping  ever  in  the  wake  of  the 
fleeing  fish.  If  the  latter  had  had  the  sense  to  keep 
straight  ahead,  he  might  have  made  good  his  escape. 
But  he  relied  upon  strategy,  and  in  this  he  was  no  match 
for  Mons.  He  leaped  out  of  the  water,  darted  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left,  and  made  all  sorts  of  foolish  and 
flurried  manoeuvres.  But  with  the  calmness  of  a  Von 
Moltke,  Mons  outgeneralled  him.  He  headed  him  off 
whenever  he  turned,  and  finally  by  a  brisk  turn  plunged 
his  teeth  into  the  trout's  neck,  and  brought  him  to 
land. 

I  need  not  tell  you  that  Tharald  made  a  hero  of  him. 
He  hugged  him  and  patted  him  and  called  him  pet 
names,  until  Mons  grew  quite  bashful.  But  this  exploit 
of  Mons's  gave  Tharald  an  idea.  He  determined  to  train 
him  as  a  salmon-fisher. 


6  THE  MODERN  V1KIKGS. 

over  the  pebbles  in  the  shallows  of  the  streams.,  pursued 
by  the  big  fishes  that  preyed  upon  them.  Then  the 
perch  and  the  trout  grew  fat,  and  the  pike  and  the  pick- 
erel made  royal  meals  out  of  the  perch  and  trout.  All 
along  the  coast  lay  English  schooners,  ready  to  buy  up 
the  salmon  and  carry  it  on  ice  to  London.  Everywhere 
there  was  life  and  traffic  ;  everybody  felt  prosperous  and 
in  good-humor. 

It  was  during  this  season  that  Tharald  one  day  walked 
down  to  the  lake  to  try  his  luck  with  a  fly.  It  had  been 
raining  during  the  night;  and  the  trees  along  the  shore 
shivered  and  shook  down  showers  of  raindrops.  The 
only  trouble  was  that  the  water  was  so  clear  that  you 
could  see  the  bottom,  which  sloped  gently  outward  for 
fifty  or  a  hundred  feet.  Mons,  who  was  now  a  year  old, 
was  sitting  in  his  usual  place  on  Tharald's  shoulder,  and 
was  gazing  contentedly  upon  the  smiling  world  which 
surrounded  him.  He  was  so  fond  of  his  master,  now, 
that  he  followed  him  like  a  dog,  and  could  not  bear  to 
be  long  away  from  him. 

"  Mons/'  said  Tharald,  after  having  vainly  thrown  the 
alluring  fly  a  dozen  times  into  the  river,  "  I  think  this  is 
a  bad  day  for  fishing  ;  or  what  do  you  think  ?  " 

At  that  very  instant  a  big  salmon-trout — a  six-pounder 
at  the  very  least — leaped  for  the  fly,  and  with  a  splash 
of  its  tail  sent  a  shower  of  spray  shoreward.  The  line 
flew  with  a  hum  from  the  reel,  and  Tharald  braced  him- 
self to  "play"  the  fish,  until  he  should  tire  him  suf- 
ficiently to  land  him. 

But  the  trout  was  evidently  of  a  different  mind.     He 


THAR  A  LHS   OTTER.  7 

sprang  out  of  the  water,  and  his  beautiful  spotted  sides 
gleamed  in  the  sun. 

That  was  a  sight  for  Mons  !  Before  his  master  could 
prevent  him,  he  plunged  from  his  shoulder  into  the 
lake,  and  shot  through  the  clear  tide  like  a  black  arrow. 
The  trout  saw  him  coming,  and  made  a  desperate 
leap  ! 

The  line  snapped  ;  the  trout  was  free  1 

Free  !  It  was  delightful  to  see  Mons's  supple  body  as 
it  glided  through  the  water,  bending  upward,  downward, 
sideward,  with  amazing  swiftness  and  ease.  His  two  big 
eyes  (which  were  conveniently  situated  so  near  the  tip 
of  his  nose  that  he  could  see  in  every  direction  with 
scarcely  a  turn  of  the  head)  peered  watchfully  through 
the  transparent  tide,  keeping  ever  in  the  wake  of  the 
fleeing  fish.  If  the  latter  had  had  the  sense  to  keep 
straight  ahead,  he  might  have  made  good  his  escape. 
But  he  relied  upon  strategy,  and  in  this  he  was  no  match 
for  Mons.  He  leaped  out  of  the  water,  darted  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left,  and  made  all  sorts  of  foolish  and 
flurried  manoeuvres.  But  with  the  calmness  of  a  Von 
Moltke,  Mons  outgeneralled  him.  He  headed  him  off 
whenever  he  turned,  and  finally  by  a  brisk  turn  plunged 
his  teeth  into  the  trout's  neck,  and  brought  him  to 
land. 

I  need  not  tell  you  that  Tharald  made  a  hero  of  him. 
He  hugged  him  and  patted  him  and  called  him  pet 
names,  until  Mons  grew  quite  bashful.  But  this  exploit 
of  Mons's  gave  Tharald  an  idea.  He  determined  to  train 
him  as  a  salmon-fisher. 


£  THE  MODERN  BIKINGS. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1880,  when  Mons  was  two 
years  old  and  fully  grown,  that  he  landed  his  first  salmon. 
And  when  he  had  landed  the  first,  it  cost  him  little  troub- 
le to  secure  the  second  and  the  third.  Tharald  felt  like 
&  rich  man  that  day,  as  he  carried  home  in  his  basket 
three  silvery  beauties,  worth,  at  the  very  least,  a  dollar  and 
a  half  apiece.  He  made  haste  to  dispose  of  them  to  an 
English  yachtsman  at  that  figure,  and  went  home  in  a 
radiant  humor,  dreaming  of  "  gold  and  forests  green,"  as 
the  Norwegians  say. 

"  Now,  Mons,"  he  said  to  his  friend,  whom  he  was 
leading  after  him  by  a  chain,  "  if  we  do  as  well  every  day 
as  we  have  done  to-day,  we  shall  soon  be  rich  enough  to 
go  to  school.  What  do  you  think  of  that,  Mons  ?  " 

One  day  a  big  fish-tail  splashed  out  of  an  eddy,  and  a 
black  furry  head  and  back  rose  for  an  instant  and  were 
whirled  out  of  sight. 

,  "  Oh,  dear,  dear,"  cried  Tharald,  "  he  will  die  !  He 
will  drown !  How  often  have  I  told  you,  Mons,"  he 
shouted,  "  that  you  shouldn't  attack  fishes  that  are  bigger 
than  yourself." 

"  Whom  are  you  talking  to  ?  "  asked  a  fisherman  named 
John  Bamle,  who  had  come  to  look  after  his  traps. 

"  To  Mons,"  answered  the  boy,  anxiously. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  your  brother  is  out  there  in 
the  water ! "  shouted  John  Bamle,  in  amazement. 

"  Yes,  Mons,  my  otter,"  cried  Tharald,  piteously. 

"  Mons,  your  brother ! "  yelled  the  man,  and  seizing  a 
boat-hook,  he  ran  out  on  the  beams  from  which  the  traps 
were  suspended.  The  roar  of  the  waters  was  so  loud  that 


THARAL&S   OTTER.  g 

it  was  next  to  impossible  to  distinguish  words,  and  "  Mons, 
my  otter,"  and  "  Mons,  my  brother,"  sounded  so  much 
alike  that  it  was  not  wonderful  that  John  mistook  the 
former  for  the  latter.  For  awhile  he  balanced  himself  by 
means  of  the  boat-hook  on  the  slippery  beams,  peering  all 
the  while  anxiously  into  the  rapids. 

Suddenly  he  saw  something  struggling  in  the  water ; 
showers  of  spray  whirled  upward.  Could  it  be  possible 
that  a  fish  had  attacked  the  drowning  child  ?  Full  of 
pity,  he  stretched  himself  forward,  extending  the  boat-, 
hook  before  him,  when  lo  !  he  lost  his  balance,  and  tum- 
bled headlong  into  the  cataract. 

Half  a  dozen  other  fishermen  who  were  sauntering 
down  the  hill-sides  saw  their  comrade  fall,  and  rushed 
into  the  water  to  rescue  him. 

One  man,  bolder  than  the  rest,  sat  astride  a  floating  log 
and  rode  out  into  the  seething  current.  Now  he  was 
thrown  off ;  now  he  scrambled  up  again  ;  at  last,  as  his 
drowning  comrade  appeared  for  the  third  time,  with  an 
arm  extended  out  of  a  whirling  eddy,  he  caught  him 
deftly  with  his  boat-hook,  and  pulled  him  up  toward  the 
log. 

As  John  Bamle  lay  there,  more  dead  than  alive,  upon 
the  bank,  emitting  streams  of  water  through  mouth  and 
nostrils,  the  question  was  asked  how  he  came  to  endan- 
ger his  life  in  such  a  reckless  manner.  At  that  very 
instant  the  head  of  a  black  otter  was  seen  emerging 
from  the  water,  dragging  a  huge  salmon  up  among  the 
stones. 

"  Look,  the  otter,  the  otter ! "  cried  the  men ;  and  a 


10  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

shower  of  stones  hailed  down  upon  the  bowlder  upon 
which  Mons  had  sought  refuge. 

"  Let  him  alone,  I  tell  you  ! "  screamed  Tharald  ;  "  he 
is  mine." 

And  with  three  leaps  he  was  at  Mons's  side,  wringing 
wet  from  top  to  toe,  but  happy  to  have  his  friend  once 
more  in  safety.  He  seized  him  in  his  arms,  and  would 
have  borne  him  ashore,  if  the  enormous  salmon  had  not 
demanded  all  his  strength. 

As  they  again  reached  the  bank,  the  fishermen  gathered 
about  them ;  but  Mons  slunk  cautiously  at  his  master's 
heels.  He  understood  the  growling  comments,  as  one 
man  after  the  other  lifted  the  big  salmon  and  estimated 
its  weight.  John  Bamle  had  now  so  far  regained  con- 
sciousness that  he  could  speak,  and  he  stared  with  no 
friendly  eye  at  the  boy  who  had  come  near  causing  his 
death. 

"  Come,  now,  Mons,"  said  Tharald,  "  come,  and  let  us 
hurry  home  to  breakfast." 

"  Mons ! "  repeated  John  Bamle ;  "  is  that  your 
Mons  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  is  my  Mons/'  answered  Tharald,  inno- 
cently. 

"  Then  you  just  wait  till  I  "am  strong  enough  to  stand 
on  my  legs,  and  I'll  promise  to  give  you  a  thrashing  that 
you'll  remember  to  your  dying  day,"  said  John,  and 
shook  his  big  fist. 

Tharald  was  not  anxious  to  wait  under  such  circum- 
stances, but  betook  himself  homeward  as  rapidly  as  his 
legs  would  carry  him. 


THARAL&&  OTTER.  n 

During  the  next  week  Tharald  did  his  best  to  avoid 
the  fishermen.  And  yet,  try  as  he  might,  he  could  not 
help  meeting  them  on  the  road,  or  on  the  river-bank,  as 
he  carried  home  his  heavy  load  of  salmon. 

"  Hallo !  How  is  your  brother  Mons  ?  "  they  jeered, 
when  they  saw  him. 

Occasionally  they  stopped  and  glanced  into  his  basket ; 
and  Tharald  noticed  that  they  glowered  unpleasantly  at 
him,  whenever  he  had  caught  a  fine  fish.  The  fact  was, 
he  had  had  extraordinary  luck  this  week ;  for  Mons  was 
getting  to  be  such  an  expert,  that  he  scarcely  ever  dived 
without. bringing  something  or  other  ashore. 

He  had  almost  money  enough  now  to  pay  for  a  year's 
schooling,  and  he  could  scarcely  sleep  for  joy  when  he 
thought  of  the  bright  future  that  stretched  out  before 
him.  He  saw  himself  in  all  manner  of  delightful  situ- 
ations. Mons,  in  the  meanwhile,  who  was  not  troubled 
with  this  kind  of  ambition,  snoozed  peacefully  in  his 
box,  at  the  foot  of  his  master's  bed.  He  did  not  dream 
what  a  rude  awakening  was  in  store  for  him. 

It  had  been  a  very  bad  week  for  John  Bamle  and  his 
comrades.  Morning  after  morning  their  traps  were 
empty,  or  one  solitary  fish  lay  sprawling  at  the  bottom 
of  the  box. 

"  I  tell  you,  boys,"  said  John,  spitting  into  his  fist,  and 
shaking  it  threateningly  against  the  sky,  "  I  am  be- 
witched ;  that's  what  I  am.  And  so  are  you,  boys— 
every  mother's  son  of  you.  It  is  that  Gimlehaug  boy 
that  has  bewitched  us.  Are  you  fools  enough  to  suppose 


12  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

that  it  is  a  natural  beast — that  black  thing — that  trots 
at  his  heels,  and  empties  the  river  of  its  fish  for  his  bene- 
fit ?  Not  by  a  jugful,  lads — not  by  a  big  jugful !  The 
devil  it  is — the  black  Satan  himself — or  my  name  is  not 
John  Bamle.  You  never  saw  a  beast  act  like  that  before, 
plunging  into  the  yellow  whirlpools,  and  coming  back 
unscathed  every  time,  and  with  a  fish  as  big  as  himself 
dangling  after  him.  Now,  shall  we  stand  that  any 
longer,  boys  ?  We  have  wives  and  babies  at  home,  cry- 
ing for  food  !  And  here  we  come  daily,  and  find  empty 
traps.  Now  wake  up,  lads,  and  be  men !  There  has 
come  a  day  of  reckoning  for  him  who  has  sold  himself 
to  the  devil.  I,  for  my  part,  am  just  mad  enough  to 
venture  on  a  tussle  with  old  Nick  himself." 

Every  word  that  John  uttered  fell  like  a  firebrand  into 
the  men's  hearts.  They  shouted  wildly,  shook  their  fists, 
and  swung  their  long  boat-hooks. 

"  We'll  kill  him,  the  thief,"  they  cried,  "  the  scoundrel ! 
He  has  sold  himself  to  the  devil." 

Up  they  rushed  from  the  river-bank,  up  the  green  hill- 
sides, up  the  rocky  slope,  until  they  reached  the  gate  at 
Gimlehaug.  It  was  but  a  small  turf-thatched  cottage, 
with  tiny  lead-framed  window-panes  and  a  rude  stone 
chimney.  The  father  was  out  working  by  the  day,  and 
the  two  boys  were  at  home  alone.  Tharald,  who  was 
sitting  at  the  window  reading,  felt  suddenly  a  paw  tap- 
ping him  on  the  cheek.  It  was  Mons.  In  the  same  in- 
stant an  angry  murmur  of  many  voices  reached  his  ear, 
and  he  saw  a  crowd  of  excited  fishermen,  with  boat-hooks 
in  their  hands,  thronging  through  the  gate.  There  were 


THARAL&S   OTTER.  13 

twenty  or  thirty  of  them  at  the  very  least.  Tharald 
sprang  forward  and  bolted  the  door.  He  knew  why  they 
had  come.  Then  he  snatched  Mons  up  in  his  arms,  and 
hugged  him  tightly. 

"  Let  them  do  their  worst,  Mons,"  he  said  ;  "  whatever 
happens,  you  and  I  will  stand  by  each  other." 

Anders,  Tharald's  brother,  came  rushing  in  by  the  back 
door.  He,  too,  had  seen  the  men  coming. 

"Hide  yourself,  hide  yourself,  Tharald!"  he  cried  in 
alarm  ;  "  it  is  you  they  are  after." 

Hide  yourself !  That  was  more  easily  said  than  done. 
The  hut  was  now  surrounded,  and  there  was  no  escape. 

"Climb  up  the  chimney,"  begged  Anders;  "hurry, 
hurry!  you  have  no  time  to  lose." 

Happily  there  was  no  fire  on  the  hearth,  and  Tharald, 
still  hugging  Mons  tightly,  allowed  himself  to  be  pushed 
by  his  brother  up  the  sooty  tunnel.  Scarcely  was  Anders 
again  out  on  the  floor,  when  there  was  a  tremendous 
thump  at  the  door,  so  that  the  hut  trembled. 

"  Open  the  door,  I  say ! "  shouted  John  Bamle  without. 

Anders,  knowing  how  easily  he  could  force  the  door,  if 
he  wished,  drew  the  bolt  and  opened. 

"  I  want  the  salmon-fisher,"  said  John,  fiercely. 

"  Yes,  we  want  the  salmon-fisher,"  echoed  the  crowd, 
wildly. 

"  What  salmon-fisher  ? "  asked  Anders,  with  feigned 
surprise. 

"  Don't  you  try  your  tricks  on  me,  you  rascal,"  yelled 
John,  furiously ;  and  seizing  the  boy  by  the  collar,  flung 
him  out  through  the  door.  The  crowd  stormed  in  after 


14  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

him.  They  tore  up  the  beds,  and  scattered  the  straw 
over  the  floor ;  upset  the  furniture,  ransacked  drawers 
and  boxes.  But  no  trace  did  they  find  of  him  whom 
they  sought.  Then  finally  it  occurred  to  someone  to 
look  up  the  chimney,  and  a  long  boat-hook  was  thrust 
up  to  bring  down  whatever  there  might  be  hidden  there. 
Tharald  felt  the  sharp  point  in  his  thigh,  and  he  knew 
that  he  was  discovered.  With  the  strength  of  despair 
he  tore  himself  loose,  leaving  part  of  his  trousers  on  the 
hook,  and,  climbing  upward,  sprang  out  upon  the  roof. 
His  thigh  was  bleeding,  but  he  scarcely  noticed  it.  His 
eyes  and  hair  were  full  of  soot,  and  his  face  was  as  black 
as  a  chimney-sweep's.  The  men,  when  they  saw  him, 
jeered  and  yelled  with  derisive  laughter. 

"  Hand  us  down  your  devilish  beast  there,  and  we 
won't  hurt  you  ! "  cried  John  Bamle. 

"  No,  I  won't,"  answered  Tharald. 

"  By  the  heavens,  lad,  if  you  don't  mind,  it  will  go 
hard  with  you." 

"  I  am  not  afraid,"  said  Tharald. 

"  Then  we'll  make  you,  you  beastly  brat,"  yelled  a  furi- 
ous voice  in  the  crowd ;  and  instantly  a  stone  whistled 
past  the  boy's  ear,  and  fell  with  a  thump  on  the  turf 
below. 

"  Now,  will  you  give  up  your  beast  ?  " 

Tharald  hesitated  a  moment.  Should  he  give  up 
Mons,  who  had  been  his  friend  and  playmate  for  two 
years,  and  see  him  stoned  to  death  by  the  cruel  men  ? 
Mons  fixed  his  black,  liquid  eyes  upon  him  as  if  he  would 
ask  him  that  very  question.  No,  no,  he  could  not  for- 


THARAL&S   OT'rER.  15 

sake  Mons.  A  second  stone,  bigger  than  the  first,  flew 
past  him,  and  he  had  to  dodge  quickly  behind  the  chim- 
ney, as  the  third  and  fourth  followed. 

"Tharald,  Tharald!"  cried  Anders,  imploringly;  "do 
let  the  otter  go,  or  they  will  kill  both  you  and  him." 

Before  Tharald  could  answer,  a  shower  of  stones  fell 
about  him.  One  hit  him  in  the  forehead ;  the  sparks 
danced  before  his  eyes.  A  warm  current  rushed  down 
his  face ;  dizziness  seized  him  ;  he  fell,  he  did  not  know 
where  or  how.  John  Bamle  with  a  yell  sprang  forward, 
climbed  up  the  low  wall  to  the  roof,  and  saw  the  boy 
lying,  as  if  dead,  behind  the  chimney.  He  turned  to  call 
for  his  boat-hook,  when  suddenly  something  black  shot 
toward  him  from  the  chimney-top,  and  a  set  of  terrible 
teeth  buried  themselves  in  his  throat.  The  mere  force 
of  the  leap  made  him  lose  his  balance,  and  he  tumbled 
backward  into  the  yard. 

In  the  same  instant  Mons  bounded  forward,  lighted 
on  somebody's  shoulder,  and  made  for  the  woods.  Be- 
fore anybody  had  time  to  think,  he  was  out  of  sight. 

Thus  ended  the  famous  battle  of  Gimlehaug,  of  which 
the  salmon-fishers  yet  speak  in  the  valley.  Or  rather,  I 
should  say,  it  did  not  end  there,  for  John  Bamle  lay  ill 
for  several  weeks,  and  had  to  have  his  wound  sewed  up 
by  the  doctor. 

As  for  Tharald,  he  got  well  within  a  few  days.  But  a 
strange  uneasiness  came  over  him,  and  he  roamed  through 
the  woods  early  and  late,  seeking  his  lost  friend.  At  the 
end  of  a  week,  as  he  was  sitting,  one  night,  on  the  rocks 
at  the  river,  he  suddenly  felt  something  hairy  rubbing 


18  THE   MODERN  VIKINGS. 

are  not  a  naked  savage  on  some  South  Sea  isle,  who 
feeds,  like  an  animal,  on  the  herbs  of  the  earth." 

"  But  I  like  codfish  much  better  than  smoked  puffin," 
remarked  Jens,  the  younger  brother,  who  was  carving  a 
pipe-bowl.  "  Smoked  puffin  always  makes  me  sea-sick. 
It  tastes  like  cod-liver  oil." 

Sigurd  smiled,  and,  patting  the  younger  boy  on  the 
head,  entered  the  cottage. 

"  You  shouldn't  talk  so  to  father,  Thoralf,"  said  Jens, 
with  superior  dignity ;  for  his  father's  caress  made  him 
proud  and  happy.  "  Father  works  so  hard,  and  he  does 
not  like  to  see  anyone  discontented." 

"That  is  just  it,"  replied  the  elder  brother;  "he  works 
so  hard,  and  yet  barely  manages  to  keep  the  wolf  from 
the  door.  That  is  what  makes  me  impatient  with  the 
country.  If  he  worked  so  hard  in  any  other  country  he 
would  live  in  abundance,  and  in  America  he  would  be- 
come a  rich  man." 

This  conversation  took  place  one  day,  late  in  the 
autumn,  outside  of  a  fisherman's  cottage  on  the  north- 
western coast  of  Iceland.  The  wind  was  blowing  a  gale 
down  from  the  ice-engirdled  pole,  and  it  required  a 
very  genial  temper  to  keep  one  from  getting  blue.  The 
ocean,  which  was  but  a  few  hundred  feet  distant,  roared 
like  an  angry  beast,  and  shook  its  white  mane  of  spray, 
flinging  it  up  against  the  black  clouds.  With  every  fresh 
gust  of  wind,  a  shower  of  salt  water  would  fly  hissing 
through  the  air  and  whirl  about  the  chimney-top,  which 
was  white  on  the  windward  side  from  dried  deposits  of 
brine.  On  the  turf-thatched  roof  big  pieces  of  drift- 


BETWEEN  SEA   AND  SJCY.  19 

wood,  weighted  down  with  stones,  were  laid  lengthwise 
and  crosswise,  and  along  the  walls  fishing-nets  hung  in 
festoons  from  wooden  pegs.  Even  the  low  door  was 
draped,  as  with  decorative  intent,  with  the  folds  of  a 
great  drag-net,  the  clumsy  cork-floats  of  which  often 
dashed  into  the  faces  of  those  who  attempted  to  enter. 
Under  a  driftwood  shed  which  projected  from  the  north- 
ern wall  was  seen  a  pile  of  peat,  cut  into  square  blocks,  and 
a  quantity  of  the  same  useful  material  might  be  observed 
down  at  the  beach,  in  a  boat  which  the  boys  had  been 
unloading  when  the  storm  blew  up.  Trees  no  longer 
grow  in  the  island,  except  the  crippled  and  twisted  dwarf- 
birch,  which  creeps  along  the  ground  like  a  snake,  and, 
if  it  ever  dares  lift  its  head,  rarely  grows  more  than  four 
or  six  feet  high.  In  the  olden  time,  which  is  described 
in  the  so-called  sagas  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies, Iceland  had  very  considerable  forests  of  birch  and 
probably  also  of  pine.  But  they  were  cut  down ;  and 
the  climate  has  gradually  been  growing  colder,  until  now 
even  the  hardiest  tree,  if  it  be  induced  to  strike  root  in  a 
sheltered  place,  never  reaches  maturity.  The  Icelanders 
therefore  burn  peat,  and  use  for  building  their  houses 
driftwood  which  is  carried  to  them  by  the  Gulf  Stream 
from  Cuba  and  the  other  well-wooded  isles  along  the 
Mexican  Gulf. 

"  If  it  keeps  blowing  like  this,"  said  Thoralf,  fixing  his 

weather  eye  on  the  black  horizon,  "  we  shan't  be  able  to 

go  a-fishing ;  and  mother  says  the  larder  is  very  nearly 

empty." 

.•"  I  wish  it  would  blow  down  an  Englishman  or  some- 


Jb  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

thing  on  us,"  remarked  the  younger  brother  ;  "  English- 
men always  have  such  lots  of  money,  and  they  are  willing 
to  pay  for  everything  they  look  at." 

"  While  you  are  a-wishing,  why  don't  you  wish  for  an 
American  ?  Americans  have  mountains  and  mountains 
of  money,  and  they  don't  mind  a  bit  what  they  do  with 
it.  That's  the  reason  I  should  like  to  be  an  American." 

"  Yes,  let  us  wish  for  an  American  or  two  to  make  us 
comfortable  for  the  winter.  But  I  am  afraid  it  is  too 
late  in  the  season  to  expect  foreigners." 

The  two  boys  chatted  together  in  this  strain,  each 
working  at  some  piece  of  wood-carving  which  he  expected 
to  sell  to  some  foreign  traveller.  Thoralf  was  sixteen 
years  old,  tall  of  growth,  but  round-shouldered,  from  be- 
ing obliged  to  work  when  he  was  too  young.  He  was 
rather  a  handsome  lad,  though  his  features  were  square 
and  weather-beaten,  and  he  looked  prematurely  old. 
Jens,  the  younger  boy,  was  fourteen  years  old,  and  was 
his  mother's  darling.  For  even  up  under  the  North  Pole 
mothers  love  their  children  tenderly,  and  sometimes  they 
love  one  a  little  more  than  another ;  that  is,  of  course, 
the  merest  wee  bit  of  a  fraction  of  a  trifle  more.  Ice- 
landic mothers  are  so  constituted  that  when  one  child  is 
a  little  weaker  and  sicklier  than  the  rest,  and  thus  seems 
to  be  more  in  need  of  petting,  they  are  apt  to  love  their 
little  weakling  above  all  their  other  children,  and  to 
lavish  the  tenderest  care  upon  that  one.  It  was  because 
little  Jens  had  so  narrow  a  chest,  and  looked  so  small 
and  slender  by  the  side  of  his  robust  brother,  that  his 
mother  always  singled  him  out  for  favors  and  caresses. 


BETWEEN  SEA   AND  SJCY.  21 


II. 

All  night  long  the  storm  danced  wildly  about  the  cot- 
tage, rattling  the  windows,  shaking  the  walls,  and  making 
fierce  assaults  upon  the  door,  as  if  it  meant  to  burst  in. 
Sometimes  it  bellowed  hoarsely  down  the  chimney,  and 
whirled  the  ashes  on  the  hearth,  like  a  gray  snowdrift, 
through  the  room.  The  fire  had  been  put  out,  of  course ; 
but  the  dancing  ashes  kept  up  a  fitful  patter,  like  that  of 
a  pelting  rainstorm,  against  the  walls ;  they  even  pene- 
trated into  the  sleeping  alcoves  and  powdered  the  heads 
of  their  occupants.  For  in  Iceland  it  is  only  well-to-do 
people  who  can  afford  to  have  separate  sleeping-rooms ; 
ordinary  folk  sleep  in  little  closed  alcoves,  along  the  walls 
of  the  sitting-room;  masters  and  servants,  parents  and 
children,  guests  and  wayfarers,  all  retiring  at  night  into 
square  little  holes  in  the  walls,  where  they  undress  be- 
hind sliding  trapdoors  which  may  be  opened  again,  when 
the  lights  have  been  put  out,  and  the  supply  of  air 
threatens  to  become  exhausted.  It  was  in  a  little  closet 
of  this  sort  that  Thoralf  and  Jens  were  lying,  listening 
to  the  roar  of  the  storm.  Thoralf  dozed  off  occasionally, 
and  tried  gently  to  extricate  himself  from  his  frightened 
brother's  embrace ;  but  Jens  lay  with  wide-open  eyes, 
staring  into  the  dark,  and  now  and  then  sliding  the  trap- 
door aside  and  peeping  out,  until  a  blinding  shower  of 
ashes  would  again  compel  him  to  slip  his  head  under  the 
sheepskin  coverlet.  When  at  last  he  summoned  courage 


22  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

to  peep  out,  he  could  not  help  shuddering.  It  was  ter- 
ribly cheerless  and  desolate.  And  all  the  time  his 
father's  words  kept  ringing  ironically  in  his  ears : 
"  Iceland  is  the  most  beautiful  land  the  sun  doth  shine 
upon."  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  began  to 
question  whether  his  father  might  not  possibly  be  mis- 
taken, or,  perhaps,  blinded  by  his  love  for  his  country. 
But  the  boy  immediately  repented  of  this  doubt, 
and,  as  if  to  convince  himself  in  spite  of  everything, 
kept  repeating  the  patriotic  motto  to  himself  until  he 
fell  asleep. 

It  was  yet  pitch  dark  in  the  room,  when  he  was  awak- 
ened by  his  father,  who  stood  stooping  over  him. 

"  Sleep  on,  child,"  said  Sigurd  ;  "  it  was  your  brother 
I  wanted  to  wake  up,  not  you." 

"  What  is  the  matter,  father  ?  What  has  happened  ?  * 
cried  Jens,  rising  up  in  bed,  and  rubbing  the  ashes  from 
the  corners  of  his  eyes. 

"  We  are  snowed  up,"  said  the  father,  quietly.  "  It  is 
already  nine  o'clock,  I  should  judge,  or  thereabouts,  but 
not  a  ray  of  light  comes  through  the  windows.  I  want 
Thoralf  to  help  me  open  the  door/' 

Thoralf  was  by  this  time  awake,  and  finished  his  primi- 
tive toilet  with  much  despatch.  The  darkness,  the  damp 
cold,  and  the  unopened  window-shutters  impressed  him 
ominously.  He  felt  as  if  some  calamity  had  happened 
or  were  about  to  happen.  Sigurd  lighted  a  piece  of  drift- 
wood and  stuck  it  ;nto  a  crevice  in  the  wall.  The  storm 
seemed  to  have  ceased  ;  a  strange,  tomb-like  silence  pre- 
vailed without  and  within.  On  the  hearth  lay  a  small 


BETWEEN  SEA    AND    SKY.  23 

snowdrift  which  sparkled  with  a  starlike  glitter  in  the 
light. 

"  Bring  the  snow-shovels,  Thoralf,"  said  Sigurd.  "  Be 
quick ;  lose  no  time." 

"  They  are  in  the  shed  outside,"  answered  Thoralf. 

"  That  is  very  unlucky,"  said  the  father ;  "  now  we 
shall  have  to  use  our  fists. 

The  door  opened  outward  and  it  was  only  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  father  and  son  succeeded  in  push- 
ing it  ajar.  The  storm  had  driven  the  snow  with  such 
force  against  it  that  their  efforts  seemed  scarcely  to  make 
any  impression  upon  the  dense  white  wall  which  rose  up 
before  them. 

"  This  is  of  no  earthly  use,  father,"  said  the  boy ;  "  it  is 
a  day's  job  at  the  very  least.  Let  me  rather  try  the 
chimney." 

"  But  you  might  stick  in  the  snow  and  perish,"  ob- 
jected the  father,  anxiously. 

"  Weeds  don't  perish  so  easily,"  said  Thoralf.  "  Stand 
up  on  the  hearth,  father,  and  I  will  climb  up  on  your 
shoulders-" 

Sigurd  half  reluctantly  complied  with  his  request 
Thoralf  crawled  up  his  back,  and  soon  planted  his  feet 
on  the  parental  shoulders.  He  pulled  his  knitted  wool- 
len cap  over  his  eyes  and  ears  so  as  to  protect  them 
from  the  drizzling  soot  which  descended  in  intermittent 
showers.  Then  groping  with  his  toes  for  a  little  projec- 
tion of  the  wall,  he  gained  a  securer  foothold,  and  pushing 
boldly  on,  soon  thrust  his  sooty  head  through  the  snow- 
crust.  A  chorus  as  of  a  thousand  howling  wolves  burst 


24  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

upon  his  bewildered  sense;  the  storm  raged,  shrieked, 
roared,  and  nearly  swept  him  off  his  feet.  Its  biting 
breath  smote  his  face  like  a  sharp  whip-lash. 

"  Give  me  my  sheepskin  coat,"  he  cried  down  into  the 
cottage  ;  "the  wind  chills  me  to  the  bone." 

The  sheepskin  coat  was  handed  to  him  on  the  end  of 
a  pole,  and  seated  upon  the  edge  of  the  chimney,  he 
pulled  it  on  and  buttoned  it  securely.  Then  he  rolled 
up  the  edges  of  his  cap  in  front  and  cautiously  exposed 
his  eyes  and  the  tip  of  his  nose-  It  was  not  a  pleasant 
experiment,  but  one  dictated  by  necessity.  As  far  as  he 
could  see,  the  world  was  white  with  snow,  which  the 
storm  whirled  madly  around,  and  swept  now  earthward, 
now  heavenward.  Great  funnel-shaped  columns  of  snow 
danced  up  the  hillsides  and  vanished  against  the  black 
horizon.  The  prospect  before  the  boy  was  by  no  means 
inviting,  but  he  had  been  accustomed  to  battle  with  dan- 
gers since  his  earliest  childhood,  and  he  was  not  easily 
dismayed.  With  much  deliberation,  he  climbed  over 
the  edge  of  the  chimney,  and  rolled  down  the  slope  of 
the  roof  in  the  direction  of  the  shed.  He  might  have 
rolled  a  great  deal  farther,  if  he  had  not  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  roll  against  the  wind.  When  he  had  made 
sure  that  he  was  in  the  right  locality,  he  checked  him- 
self by  spreading  his  legs  and  arms  ;  then  judging  by  the 
outline  of  the  snow  where  the  door  of  the  shed  was,  he 
crept  along  the  edge  of  the  roof  on  the  leeward  side.  He 
looked  more  like  a  small  polar  bear  than  a  boy,  covered, 
as  he  was,  with  snow  from  head  to  foot.  He  was  pre- 
pared for  a  laborious  descent,  and  raising  himself  up  he 


BETWEEN  SEA    AND   SKY.  25 

jumped  with  all  his  might,  hoping  that  his  weight  would 
carry  him  a  couple  of  feet  down.  To  his  utmost  aston- 
ishment he  accomplished  considerably  more.  The  snow 
yielded  under  his  feet  as  if  it  had  been  eiderdown,  and  he 
tumbled  headlong  into  a  white  cave  right  at  the  entrance 
to  the  shed.  The  storm,  while  it  had  packed  the  snow 
on  the  windward  side,  had  naturally  scattered  it  very 
loosely  on  the  leeward,  which  left  a  considerable  space 
unfilled  under  the  projecting  eaves. 

Thoralf  picked  himself  up  and  entered  the  shed  with, 
out  difficulty.  He  made  up  a  large  bundle  of  peat, 
which  he  put  into  a  basket  which  could  be  carried,  by 
means  of  straps,  upon  his  back.  With  a  snow-shovel  he 
then  proceeded  to  dig  a  tunnel  to  the  nearest  window. 
This  was  not  a  very  hard  task,  as  the  distance  was  not 
great.  The  window  was  opened  and  the  basket  of  peat, 
a  couple  of  shovels,  and  two  pairs  of  skees*  (to  be  used 
in  case  of  emergency)  were  handed  in.  Thoralf  himself, 
who  was  hungry  as  a  wolf,  made  haste  to  avail  himself  of 
the  same  entrance.  And  it  occurred  to  him  as  a  happy 
afterthought  that  he  might  have  saved  himself  much 
trouble,  if  he  had  selected  the  window  instead  of  the 
chimney  when  he  sallied  forth  on  his  expedition.  He 
had  erroneously  taken  it  for  granted  that  the  snow  would 
be  packed  as  hard  everywhere  as  it  was  at  the  front  door. 
The  mother,  who  had  been  spending  this  exciting  half- 
hour  in  keeping  little  Jens  warm,  now  lighted  a  fire  and 


*  Skees  are  a  kind  of  snowshoe,  four  to  six  feet  long,  bent  upward  in 
front,  with  a  band  to  attach  it  to  the  foot  in  the  middle. 


26  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

made  coffee  ;  and  Thoralf  needed  no  coaxing  to  do  jus- 
tice to  his  breakfast,  even  though  it  had,  like  everything 
else  in  Iceland,  a  flavor  of  salted  fish. 


III. 

Five  days  had  passed,  and  still  the  storm  raged  with 
unabated  fury.  The  access  to  the  ocean  was  cut  off,  and, 
with  that,  access  to  food.  Already  the  last  handful  of 
flour  had  been  made  into  bread,  and  of  the  dried  cod 
which  hung  in  rows  under  the  ceiling  only  one  small 
and  skinny  specimen  remained.  The  father  and  the 
mother  sat  with  mournful  faces  at  the  hearth,  the 
former  reading  in  his  hymn-book,  the  latter  stroking 
the  hair  of  her  youngest  boy.  Thoralf,  who  was  carv- 
ing at  his  everlasting  pipe-bowl  (a  corpulent  and  short- 
legged  Turk  with  an  enormous  mustache),  looked  up 
suddenly  from  his  work  and  glanced  questioningly  at 
his  father. 

"  Father,"  he  said,  abruptly,  "  how  would  you  like  to 
starve  to  death  ?  " 

"  God  will  preserve  us  from  that,  my  son,"  answered 
the  father,  devoutly. 

"Not  unless  we  try  to  preserve  ourselves,"  retorted 
the  boy,  earnestly.  "  We  can't  tell  how  long  this  storm 
is  going  to  last,  and  it  is  better  for  us  to  start  out  in 
search  of  food  now,  while  we  are  yet  strong,  than  to  wait 
until  later,  when,  as  likely  as  not,  we  shall  be  weakened 
by  hunger." 


BETWEEN  SEA    AND   SKY.  27 

"  But  what  would  you  have  me  do,  Thoralf  ?  "  asked  the 
father,  sadly.  "To  venture  out  on  the  ocean  in  this 
weather  would  be  certain  death." 

"  True  ;  but  we  can  reach  the  Pope's  Nose  on  our 
skees,  and  there  we  might  snare  or  shoot  some  auks  and 
gulls.  Though  I  am  not  partial  to  that  kind  of  diet  my- 
self, it  is  always  preferable  to  starvation." 

"  Wait,  my  son,  wait,"  said  Sigurd,  earnestly.  "  We 
have  food  enough  for  to-day,  and  by  to-morrow  the  storm 
will  have  ceased,  and  we  may  go  fishing  without  en- 
dangering our  lives." 

"  As  you  wish,  father,"  the  son  replied,  a  trifle  hurt  at 
his  father's  unresponsive  manner ;  "  but  if  you  will  take 
a  look  out  of  the  chimney,  you  will  find  that  it  looks 
black  enough  to  storm  for  another  week." 

The  father,  instead  of  accepting  this  suggestion,  went 
quietly  to  his  book-case,  took  out  a  copy  of  Livy,  in 
Latin,  and  sat  down  to  read.  Occasionally  he  looked 
up  a  word  in  the  lexicon  (which  he  had  borrowed  from 
the  public  library  at  Reykjavik),  but  read  nevertheless 
with  apparent  fluency  and  pleasure.  Though  he  was  a 
fisherman,  he  was  also  a  scholar,  and  during  the  long 
winter  evenings  he  had  taught  himself  Latin  and  even  a 
smattering  of  Greek.*  In  Iceland  the  people  have  to 
spend  their  evenings  at  home;  and  especially  since 
their  millennial  celebration  in  1876,  when  American 


*  Lord  Dufferin  tells,  in  his  Letters  from  High  Latitudes,  how  the 
Icelandic  pilots  conversed  with  him  in  Latin,  and  other  trarellers  have 
many  similar  tales  to  relate. 


28  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

scholars  *  presented  them  with  a  large  library,  books  are 
their  unfailing  resource.  In  the  case  of  Sigurd  Sigurdson, 
however,  books  had  become  a  kind  of  dissipation,  and 
he  had  to  be  weaned  gradually  of  his  predilection  for 
Homer  and  Livy.  His  oldest  son  especially  looked  upon 
Latin  and  Greek  as  a  vicious  indulgence,  which  no  man 
with  a  family  could  afford  to  foster.  Many  a  day  when 
Sigurd  ought  to  have  been  out  in  his  boat  casting  his 
nets,  he  stayed  at  home  reading.  And  this,  in  Thoralfs 
opinion,  was  the  chief  reason  why  they  would  always  re- 
main poor,  and  run  the  risk  of  starvation,  whenever  a 
stretch  of  bad  weather  prevented  them  from  going  to  sea. 

The  next  morning — the  sixth  since  the  beginning  of  the 
storm — Thoralf  climbed  up  to  his  post  of  observation  on 
the  chimney  top,  and  saw,  to  his  dismay,  that  his  predic- 
tion was  correct.  It  had  ceased  snowing,  but  the  wind 
was  blowing  as  fiercely  as  ever,  and  the  cold  was  intense. 

"  Will  you  follow  me,  father,  or  will  you  not  ?  "  he 
asked,  when  he  had  accomplished  his  descent  into  the 
room.  "  Our  last  fish  is  now  eaten,  and  our  last  loaf  of 
bread  will  soon  follow  suit." 

"  I  will  go  with  you,  my  son,"  answered  Sigurd,  put- 
ting down  his  Livy  reluctantly.  He  had  just  been  read- 
ing for  the  hundredth  time  about  the  expulsion  of  the 
Tarquins  from  Rome,  and  his  blood  was  aglow  with 
sympathy  and  enthusiasm. 

*  Professor  Willard  Fiske,  formerly  of  Cornell  University,  was  instru- 
mental in  collecting  in  the  United  States  a  library  of  several  thousand  vol- 
umes, which  he  presented  to  the  Icelanders  on  the  one  thousandth  birth- 
day of  their  nation. 


BETWEEN  SEA    AND   SKY.  29 

"  Here  is  your  coat,  Sigurd,"  said  his  wife,  holding  up 
the  great  sheepskin  garment,  and  assisting  him  in  put- 
ting it  on. 

"  And  here  are  your  skees  and  your  mittens  and  your 
cap,"  cried  Thoralf,  eager  to  seize  the  moment,  when  his 
father  was  in  the  mood  for  action. 

Muffled  up  like  Esquimaux  to  their  very  eyes,  armed 
with  bows  and  arrows  and  long  poles  with  nooses  of  horse- 
hair at  the  ends,  they  sallied  forth  on  their  skees.  The 
wind  blew  straight  into  their  faces,  forcing  their  breath 
down  their  throats  and  compelling  them  to  tack  in  zigzag 
lines  like  ships  in  a  gale.  The  promontory  called  "  The 
Pope's  Nose"  was  about  a  mile  distant ;  but  in  spite  of 
their  knowledge  of  the  land,  they  went  twice  astray,  and 
had  to  lie  down  in  the  snow,  every  now  and  then,  so  as 
to  draw  breath  and  warm  the  exposed  portions  of  their 
faces.  At  the  end  of  nearly  two  hours  they  found  them, 
selves  at  their  destination,  but,  to  their  unutterable  aston* 
ishment,  the  ocean  seemed  to  have  vanished,  and  as  far 
as  their  eyes  could  reach,  a  vast  field  of  packed  ice 
loomed  up  against  the  sky  in  fantastic  bastions,  turrets, 
and  spires.  The  storm  had  driven  down  this  enormous 
arctic  wilderness  from  the  frozen  precincts  of  the  pole ; 
and  now  they  were  blockaded  on  all  sides,  and  cut  off 
from  all  intercourse  with  humanity. 

"We  are  lost,  Thoralf,"  muttered  his  father,  after 
having  gazed  for  some  time  in  speechless  despair  at  the 
towering  icebergs ;  "  we  might  just  as  well  have  remained 
at  home." 

"  The  wind,  which  has  blown  the  ice  down  upon  us 


30  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

can  blow  it  away  again,  too,"  replied  the  son,  with  forced 
cheerfulness. 

"  I  see  no  living  thing  here,"  said  Sigurd,  spying  anx- 
iously seaward. 

"  Nor  do  I,"  rejoined  Thoralf ;  "  but  if  we  hunt,  we 
shall.  I  have  brought  a  rope,  and  I  am  going  to  pay  a 
little  visit  to  those  auks  and  gulls  that  must  be  hiding  in 
the  sheltered  nooks  of  the  rocks." 

"  Are  you  mad,  boy  ?  "  cried  the  father  in  alarm.  "  I 
will  never  permit  it !  " 

"  There  is  no  help  for  it,  father,"  said  the  boy  reso- 
lutely. "  Here,  you  take  hold  of  one  end  of  the  rope  ; 
the  other  I  will  secure  about  my  waist.  Now,  get  a  good 
strong  hold,  and  brace  your  feet  against  the  rock  there." 

Sigurd,  after  some  remonstrance,  yielded,  as  was  his 
wont,  to  his  son's  resolution  and  courage.  Stepping  off 
his  skees,  which  he  stuck  endwise  into  the  snow,  and 
burrowing  his  feet  down  until  they  reached  the  solid 
rock,  he  tied  the  rope  around  his  waist  and  twisted  it 
about  his  hands,  and  at  last,  with  quaking  heart,  gave  the 
signal  for  the  perilous  enterprise.  The  promontory, 
which  rose  abruptly  to  a  height  of  two  or  three  hundred 
feet  from  the  sea,  presented  a  jagged  wall  full  of  nooks 
and  crevices  glazed  with  frozen  snow  on  the  windward 
side,  but  black  and  partly  bare  to  leeward. 

"  Now  let  go  ! "  shouted  Thoralf ;  "  and  stop  when  I 
give  a  slight  pull  at  the  rope." 

"  All  right,"  replied  his  father. 

And  slowly,  slowly,  hovering  in  mid-air,  now  yielding 
to  an  irresistible  impulse  of  dread,  now  brave,  cautious, 


BETWEEN  SEA   AND  SKY.  31 

and  confident,  Thoralf  descended  the  cliff,  which  no  hu* 
man  foot  had  ever  trod  before.  He  held  in  his  hand  the 
pole  with  the  horse-hair  noose,  and  over  his  shoulder 
hung  a  foxskin  hunting-bag.  With  alert,  wide-open 
eyes  he  spied  about  him,  exploring  every  cranny  of  the 
rock,  and  thrusting  his  pole  into  the  holes  where  he  sus- 
pected the  birds  might  have  taken  refuge.  Sometimes  a 
gust  of  wind  would  have  flung  him  violently  against  the 
jagged  wall  if  he  had  not,  by  means  of  his  pole,  warded 
off  the  collision.  At  last  he  caught  sight  of  a  bare  ledge, 
where  he  might  gain  a  secure  foothold  ;  for  the  rope  cut 
him  terribly  about  the  waist,  and  made  him  anxious  to 
relieve  the  strain,  if  only  for  a  moment.  He  gave  the 
signal  to  his  father,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  pole  swung  him- 
self over  to  the  projecting  ledge.  It  was  uncomfortably 
narrow,  and,  what  was  worse,  the  remnants  of  a  dozen 
auks'  nests  had  made  the  place  extremely  slippery. 
Nevertheless,  he  seated  himself,  allowing  his  feet  to 
dangle,  and  gazed  out  upon  the  vast  ocean,  which  looked 
in  its  icy  grandeur  like  a  forest  of  shining  towers  and 
minarets.  It  struck  him  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  that 
perhaps  his  father  was  right  in  his  belief  that  Iceland  was 
the  fairest  land  the  sun  doth  shine  upon ;  but  he  could 
not  help  reflecting  that  it  was  a  very  unprofitable  kind  of 
beauty.  The  storm  whistled  and  howled  overhead,  but 
under  the  lee  of  the  sheltering  rock  it  blew  only  in  fitful 
gusts  with  intermissions  of  comparative  calm.  He  knew 
that  in  fair  weather  this  was  the  haunt  of  innumerable 
sea  birds,  and  he  concluded  that  even  now  they  could 
not  be  far  away.  He  pulled  up  his  legs,  and  crept  care- 


32  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

fully  on  hands  and  feet  along  the  slippery  ledge,  peering 
intently  into  every  nook  and  crevice.  His  eyes,  which 
had  been  half-blinded  by  the  glare  of  the  snow,  gradually 
recovered  their  power  of  vision.  There !  What  was 
that  ?  Something  seemed  to  move  on  the  ledge  below. 
Yes,  there  sat  a  long  row  of  auks,  some  erect  as  soldiers, 
as  if  determined  to  face  it  out ;  others  huddled  together 
in  clusters,  and  comically  woe-begone.  Quite  a  number 
lay  dead  at  the  base  of  the  rock,  whether  from  starvation 
or  as  the  victims  of  fierce  fights  for  the  possession  of  the 
sheltered  ledges  could  scarcely  be  determined.  Thoralf, 
delighted  at  the  sight  of  anything  eatable  (even  though 
it  was  poor  eating),  gently  lowered  the  end  of  his  pole, 
slipped  the  noose  about  the  neck  of  a  large,  military- 
looking  fellow,  and,  with  a  quick  pull,  swung  him  out 
over  the  ice-field.  The  auk  gave  a  few  ineffectual  flaps 
with  his  useless  wings,*  and  expired.  His  picking  off 
apparently  occasioned  no  comment  whatever  in  his 
family,  for  his  comrades  never  uttered  a  sound  nor  stirred 
an  inch,  except  to  take  possession  of  the  place  he  had 
vacated.  Number  two  met  his  fate  with  the  same  list- 
less resignation  ;  and  numbers  three,  four,  and  five  were 
likewise  removed  in  the  same  noiseless  manner,  without 
impressing  their  neighbors  with  the  fact  that  their  turn 
might  come  next.  The  birds  were  half-benumbed  with 
hunger,  and  their  usually  alert  senses  were  drowsy  and 
stupefied.  Nevertheless,  number  six,  when  it  felt  the 
noose  about  its  neck,  raised  a  hubbub  that  suddenly 

*  The  auk  cannot  fly  well,  but  uses  its  wings  for  swimming  and  diving. 


BETWEEN  SEA   AND   SKY.  33 

aroused  the  whole  colony,  and,  with  a  chorus  of  wild 
screams,  the  birds  flung  themselves  down  the  cliffs  or,  in 
their  bewilderment,  dashed  headlong  down  upon  the  ice, 
where  they  lay  half  stunned  or  helplessly  sprawling.  So, 
through  all  the  caves  and  hiding-places  of  the  promon- 
tory the  commotion  spread,  and  the  noise  of  screams  and 
confused  chatter  mingled  with  the  storm  and  filled  the 
vault  of  the  sky.  In  an  instant  a  great  flock  of  gulls  was 
on  the  wing,  and  circled  with  resentful  shrieks  about  the 
head  of  the  daring  intruder  who  had  disturbed  their 
wintry  peace.  The  wind  whirled  them  about,  but  they 
still  held  their  own,  and  almost  brushed  with  their  wings 
against  his  face,  while  he  struck  out  at  them  with  his 
pole.  He  had  no  intention  of  catching  them;  but,  by 
chance,  a  huge  burgomaster  gull*  got  its  foot  into  the 
noose.  It  made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  disentangle  it- 
self, then,  with  piercing  screams,  flapped  its  great  wings, 
beating  the  air  desperately.  Thoralf,  having  packed 
three  birds  into  his  hunting-bag,  tied  the  three  others  to- 
gether by  the  legs,  and  flung  them  across  his  shoulders. 
Then,  gradually  trusting  his  weight  to  the  rope,  he  slid 
off  the  rock,  and  was  about  to  give  his  father  the  signal 
to  hoist  him  up.  But,  greatly  to  his  astonishment,  his 
living  captive,  by  the  power  of  its  mighty  wings,  pulling 
at  the  end  of  the  pole,  swung  him  considerably  farther 
into  space  than  he  had  calculated.  He  would  have  liked 
to  let  go  both  the  gull  and  the  pole,  but  he  perceived  in* 


*  The  burgomaster  gull   is  the  largest  of  all  gulls.     It  is  thirty  inches 
long,  exclusive  of  it?  tail,  and  its  wings  have  a  span  of  five  feet 

3 


34  THE  MODERN    VIKINGS. 

stantly  that  if  he  did,  he  would,  by  the  mere  force  of  his 
weight,  be  flung  back  against  the  rocky  wall.  He  did  not 
dare  take  that  risk,  as  the  blow  might  be  hard  enough  to 
stun  him.  A  strange,  tingling  sensation  shot  through 
his  nerves,  and  the  blood  throbbed  with  a  surging  sound 
in  his  ears.  There  he  hung  suspended  in  mid-air,  over  a 
terrible  precipice — and  a  hundred  feet  below  was  the 
jagged  ice-field  with  its  sharp,  fiercely-shining  steeples  ! 
With  a  powerful  effort  of  will,  he  collected  his  senses, 
clinched  his  teeth,  and  strove  to  think  clearly.  The  gull 
whirled  wildly  eastward  and  westward,  and  he  swayed 
with  its  every  motion  like  a  living  pendulum  between  sea 
and  sky.  He  began  to  grow  dizzy,  but  again  his  power- 
ful will  came  to  his  rescue,  and  he  gazed  resolutely  up 
against  the  brow  of  the  precipice  and  down  upon  the  pro- 
jecting ledges  below,  in  order  to  accustom  his  eye  and 
his  mind  to  the  sight.  By  a  strong  effort  he  succeeded 
in  giving  a  pull  at  the  rope,  and  expected  to  feel  himself 
raised  upward  by  his  father's  strong  arms.  But,  to  his 
amazement,  there  came  no  response  to  his  signal.  He 
repeated  it  once,  twice,  thrice  ;  there  was  a  slight  tugging 
at  the  rope,  but  no  upward  movement.  Then  the  brave 
lad's  heart  stood  still,  and  his  courage  wellnigh  failed 
him. 

"  Father ! "  he  cried,  with  a  hoarse  voice  of  despair ; 
"  why  don't  you  pull  me  up  ?  " 

His  cry  was  lost  in  the  roar  of  the  wind,  and  there 
came  no  answer.  Taking  hold  once  more  of  the  rope 
with  one  hand,  he  considered  the  possibility  of  climbing ; 
but  the  miserable  gull,  seeming  every  moment  to  re. 


BETWEEN  SEA    AND  SKY.  35 

double  its  efforts  at  escape,  deprived  him  of  the  use  of 
his  hands  unless  he  chose  to  dash  out  his  brains  by  col- 
lision with  the  rock.  Something  like  a  husky,  choked 
scream  seemed  to  float  down  from  above,  and  staring 
again  upward,  he  saw  his  father's  head  projecting  over 
the  brink  of  the  precipice. 

"  The  rope  will  break,"  screamed  Sigurd.  "  I  have  tied 
it  to  the  rock." 

Thoralf  instantly  took  in  the  situation.  By  the  swing- 
ing motion,  occasioned  both  by  the  wind  and  his  fight 
with  the  gull,  the  rope  had  become  frayed  against  the 
sharp  edge  of  the  cliff,  and  his  chances  of  life,  he  coolly 
concluded,  were  now  not  worth  a  sixpence.  Curiously 
enough,  his  agitation  suddenly  left  him,  and  a  great  calm 
came  over  him.  He  seemed  to  stand  face  to  face  with 
eternity ;  and  as  nothing  else  that  he  could  do  was  of 
any  avail,  he  could  at  least  steel  his  heart  to  meet  death 
like  a  man  and  an  Icelander. 

"  I  am  trying  to  get  hold  of  the  rope  below  the  place 
where  it  is  frayed,"  he  heard  his  father  shout  during  a 
momentary  lull  in  the  storm. 

"Don't  try,"  answered  the  boy;  "you  can't  do  it 
alone.  Rather,  let  me  down  on  the  lower  ledge,  and  let 
me  sit  there  until  you  can  go  and  get  someone  to  help 
you." 

His  father,  accustomed  to  take  his  son's  advice,  reluct- 
antly lowered  him  ten  or  twenty  feet  until  he  was  on  a 
level  with  the  shelving  ledge  below,  which  was  broader 
than  the  one  upon  which  he  had  first  gained  foothold. 
But — oh,  the  misery  of  it ! — the  ledge  did  not  project  fai 


36  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

enough  i  He  could  not  reach  it  with  his  feet !  The 
rope,  of  which  only  a  few  strands  remained,  might  break 
at  any  moment  and — he  dared  not  think  what  would  be 
the  result !  He  had  scarcely  had  time  to  consider,  when 
a  brilliant  device  shot  through  his  brain.  With  a  sudden 
thrust  he  flung  away  the  pole,  and  the  impetus  of  his 
weight  sent  him  inward  with  such  force  that  he  landed 
securely  upon  the  broad  shelf  of  rock. 

The  gull,  surprised  by  the  sudden  weight  of  the  pole, 
made  a  somersault,  strove  to  rise  again,  and  tumbled, 
with  the  pole  still  depending  from  its  leg,  down  upon  the 
ice-field. 

It  was  well  that  Thoralf  was  warmly  clad,  or  he  could 
never  have  endured  the  terrible  hours  while  he  sat 
through  the  long  afternoon,  hearing  the  moaning  and 
shrieking  of  the  wind  and  seeing  the  darkness  close 
about  him.  The  storm  was  chilling  him  with  its  fierce 
breath.  One  of  the  birds  he  tied  about  his  throat  as  a 
sort  of  scarf,  using  the  feet  and  neck  for  making  the  knot, 
and  the  dense,  downy  feathers  sent  a  glow  of  comfort 
through  him,  in  spite  of  his  consciousness  that  every 
hour  might  be  his  last.  If  he  could  only  keep  awake 
through  the  night,  the  chances  were  that  he  would  sur- 
vive to  greet  the  morning.  He  hit  upon  an  ingenious 
plan  for  accomplishing  this  purpose.  He  opened  the  bill 
of  the  auk  which  warmed  his  neck,  cut  off  the  lower 
mandible,  and  placed  the  upper  one  (which  was  as  sharp 
as  a  knife)  so  that  it  would  inevitably  cut  his  chin  in  case 
he  should  nod.  He  leaned  against  the  rock  and  thought 
of  his  mother  and  the  warm,  comfortable  chimney-corner 


BETWEEN   SEA    AND   SKY.  37 

at  home.  The  wind  probably  resented  this  thought,  for 
it  suddenly  sent  a  biting  gust  right  into  his  face, 
and  he  buried  his  nose  in  the  downy  breast  of  the  auk 
until  the  pain  had  subsided.  The  darkness  had  now 
settled  upon  sea  and  land ;  only  here  and  there  white 
steeples  loomed  out  of  the  gloom.  Thoralf,  simply  to 
occupy  his  thought,  began  to  count  them.  But  all  of  a 
sudden  one  of  the  steeples  seemed  to  move,  then  another 
— and  another. 

The  boy  feared  that  the  long  strain  of  excitement  was 
depriving  him  of  his  reason.  The  wind,  too,  after  a  few 
wild  arctic  howls,  acquired  a  warmer  breath  and  a  gentler 
sound.  It  could  not  be  possible  that  he  was  dreaming, 
for  in  that  case  he  would  soon  be  dead.  Perhaps  he 
was  dead  already,  and  was  drifting  through  this  strange 
icy  vista  to  a  better  world.  All  these  imaginings  flitted 
through  his  mind,  and  were  again  dismissed  as  improba- 
ble. He  scratched  his  face  with  the  foot  of  an  auk  in 
order  to  convince  himself  that  he  was  really  awake. 
Yes,  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  it ;  he  was  wide  awake* 
Accordingly  he  once  more  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  ghostly 
steeples  and  towers,  and — it  sent  cold  shudders  down  his 
back — they  were  still  moving.  Then  there  came  a  fusil- 
lade as  of  heavy  artillery,  followed  by  a  salvo  of  lighter 
musketry ;  then  came  a  fierce  grinding,  and  cracking, 
and  creaking  sound,  as  if  the  whole  ocean  were  of  glass 
and  were  breaking  to  pieces.  "  What,"  thought  Thor- 
alf, "  is  the  ice  breaking  up!M  In  an  instant  the  ex- 
planation of  the  whole  spectral  panorama  was  clear  as 
the  day.  The  wind  had  veered  round  to  the  southeast^ 


38  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

and  the  whole  enormous  ice-floe  was  being  driven  out  to 
sea.  For  several  hours — he  could  not  tell  how  many — 
he  sat  watching  this  superb  spectacle  by  the  pale  light  of 
the  aurora  borealis,  which  toward  midnight  began  to 
flicker  across  the  sky  and  illuminated  the  northern  hori- 
zon. He  found  the  sight  so  interesting  that  for  a  while 
he  forgot  to  be  sleepy.  But  toward  morning,  when  the 
aurora  began  to  fade  and  the  clouds  to  cover  the  east, 
a  terrible  weariness  was  irresistibly  stealing  over  him. 
He  could  see  glimpses  of  the  black  water  beneath  him ; 
and  the  shining  spires  of  ice  were  vanishing  in  the  dusk, 
drifting  rapidly  away  upon  the  arctic  currents  with 
death  and  disaster  to  ships  and  crews  that  might  hap- 
pen to  cross  their  paths. 

It  was  terrible  at  what  a  snail's  pace  the  hours 
crept  along !  It  seemed  to  Thoralf  as  if  a  week  had 
passed  since  his  father  left  him.  He  pinched  himself 
in  order  to  keep  awake,  but  it  was  of  no  use;  his  eye- 
lids would  slowly  droop  and  his  head  would  incline — 
horrors !  what  was  that  ?  Oh,  he  had  forgotten ;  it- 
was  the  sharp  mandible  of  the  auk  that  cut  his  chin. 
He  put  his  hand  up  to  it,  and  felt  something  warm 
and  clammy  on  his  fingers.  He  was  bleeding.  It 
took  Thoralf  several  minutes  to  stay  the  blood — the 
wound  was  deeper  than  he  had  bargained  for ;  but  it 
occupied  him  and  kept  him  awake,  which  was  of  vital 
importance. 

At  last,  after  a  long  and  desperate  struggle  with 
drowsiness,  he  saw  the  dawn  break  faintly  in  the  east 
It  was  a  mere  feeble  promise  of  light,  a  remote  sugges- 


BETWEEN  SEA    AND   SKY.  39 

tion  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  day.  But  to  the  boy, 
worn  out  by  the  terrible  strain  of  death  and  danger  star- 
ing him  in  the  face,  it  was  a  glorious  assurance  that  res- 
cue was  at  hand.  The  tears  came  into  his  eyes — not 
tears  of  weakness,  but  tears  of  gratitude  that  the  terrible 
trial  had  been  endured.  Gradually  the  light  spread  like 
a  pale,  grayish  veil  over  the  eastern  sky,  and  the  ocean 
caught  faint  reflections  of  the  presence  of  the  unseen  sun. 
The  wind  was  mild,  and  thousands  of  birds  that  had  been 
imprisoned  by  the  ice  in  the  crevices  of  the  rocks  whirled 
triumphantly  into  the  air  and  plunged  with  wild  screams 
into  the  tide  below.  It  was  hard  to  imagine  where  they 
all  had  been,  for  the  air  seemed  alive  with  them,  the  cliffs 
teemed  with  them;  and  they  fought,  and  shrieked,  and 
chattered,  like  a  howling  mob  in  times  of  famine.  It 
was  owing  to  this  unearthly  tumult  that  Thoralf  did  not 
hear  the  voice  which  called  to  him  from  the  top  of  the 
cliff.  His  senses  were  half-dazed  by  the  noise  and  by 
the  sudden  relief  from  the  excitement  of  the  night. 
Then  there  came  two  voices  floating  down  to  him — then 
quite  a  chorus.  He  tried  to  look  up,  but  the  beetling 
brow  of  the  rock  prevented  him  from  seeing  anything 
but  a  stout  rope,  which  was  dangling  in  mid-air  and 
slowly  approaching  him.  With  all  the  power  of  his  lungs 
he  responded  to  the  call ;  and  there  came  a  wild  cheer 
from  above — a  cheer  full  of  triumph  and  joy.  He  recog- 
nized the  voices  of  Hunding's  sons,  who  lived  on  the 
other  side  of  the  promontory ;  and  he  knew  that  even 
without  their  father  they  were  strong  enough  to  pull  up 
a  man  three  times  his  weight.  The  difficulty  now  was 


40  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

only  to  get  hold  of  the  rope,  which  hung  too  far  out  fof 
his  hands  to  reach  it. 

"  Shake  the  rope  hard,"  he  called  up  ;  and  immediately 
the  rope  was  shaken  into  serpentine  undulations ;  and 
after  a  few  vain  efforts,  he  succeeded  in  catching  hold  of 
the  knot.  To  secure  the  rope  about  his  waist  and  to  give 
the  signal  for  the  ascent  was  but  a  moment's  work. 
They  hauled  vigorously,  those  sons  of  Hunding — for  he 
rose,  up,  along  the  black  walls — up — up — up — with  no 
uncertain  motion.  At  last,  when  he  was  at  the  very 
brink  of  the  precipice,  he  saw  his  father's  pale  and  anx- 
ious face  leaning  out  over  the  abyss.  But  there  was  an- 
other face  too  !  Whose  could  it  be  ?  It  was  a  woman's 
face.  It  was  his  mother's.  Somebody  swung  him  out 
into  space  ;  a  strange,  delicious  dizziness  came  over  him  ; 
his  eyes  were  blinded  with  tears  ;  he  did  not  know  where 
he  was.  He  only  knew  that  he  was  inexpressibly  happy. 
There  came  a  tremendous  cheer  from  somewhere — for 
Icelanders  know  how  to  cheer — but  it  penetrated  but 
faintly  through  his  bewildered  senses.  Something  cold 
touched  his  forehead ;  it  seemed  to  be  snow ;  then  warm 
drops  fell,  which  were  tears.  He  opened  his  eyes ;  he 
was  in  his  mother's  arms.  Little  Jens  was  crying  over 
him  and  kissing  him.  His  father  and  Hunding's  sons 
were  standing,  with  folded  arms,  gazing  joyously  at  him. 


MIKKEL 
I. 

HOW  MIKKEL  WAS  FOUND. 

You  may  find  it  hard  to  believe  what  I  am  going  to 
tell  you,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  strictly  true.  I  knew  the 
boy  who  is  the  hero  of  this  story.  His  name  was  Thor 
Larsson,  and  a  very  clever  boy  he  was.  Still  I  don't 
think  he  would  have  amounted  to  much  in  the  world,  if 
it  had  not  been  for  his  friend  Michael,  or,  as  they  write 
it  in  Norwegian,  Mikkel.  Mikkel,  strange  to  say,  was 
not  a  boy,  but  a  fox.  Thor  caught  him,  when  he  was  a 
very  small  lad,  in  a  den  under  the  roots  of  a  huge  tree. 
It  happened  in  this  way.  Thor  and  his  elder  brother, 
Lars,  and  still  another  boy,  named  Ole  Thomlemo,  were  up 
in  the  woods  gathering  faggots,  which  they  tied  together 
in  large  bundles  to  carry  home  on  their  backs;  for  their 
parents  were  poor  people,  and  had  no  money  to  buy  wood 
with.  The  boys  rather  liked  to  be  sent  on  errands  of 
this  kind,  because  delicious  raspberries  and  blueberries 
grew  in  great  abundance  in  the  woods,  and  gathering 
faggots  was,  after  all,  a  much  manlier  occupation  than 
staying  at  home  minding  the  baby. 

Thor's  brother  Lars  and  Ole  Thomlemo  were  great 


42  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

friends,  and  they  had  a  disagreeable  way  of  always  plot- 
ting and  having  secrets  together  and  leaving  Thor  out  of 
their  councils.  One  of  their  favorite  tricks,  when  they 
wished  to  get  rid  of  him,  was  to  pretend  to  play  hide-and- 
seek  ;  and  when  he  had  hidden  himself,  they  would  run 
away  from  him  and  make  no  effort  to  find  him.  It  was 
this  trick  of  theirs  which  led  to  the  capture  of  Mikkel, 
and  to  many  things  besides. 

It  was  on  a  glorious  day  in  the  early  autumn  that  the 
three  boys  started  out  together,  as  frisky  and  gay  as  a 
company  of  squirrels.  They  had  no  luncheon-baskets 
with  them,  although  they  expected  to  be  gone  for  the 
whole  day ;  but  they  had  hooks  and  lines  in  their  pock- 
ets, and  meant  to  have  a  famous  dinner  of  brook-trout 
up  in  some  mountain  glen,  where  they  could  sit  like 
pirates  around  a  fire,  conversing  in  mysterious  language, 
while  the  fish  was  being  fried  upon  a  flat  stone.  Their 
tolle  knives  *  were  hanging,  sheathed,  from  their  girdles, 
and  the  two  older  ones  carried,  besides,  little  hatchets 
wherewith  to  cut  off  the  dry  twigs  and  branches.  Lars 
and  Ole  Thomlemo,  as  usual,  kept  ahead  and  left  Thor 
to  pick  his  way  over  the  steep  and  stony  road  as  best  he 
might ;  and  when  he  caught  up  with  them,  they  started 
to  run,  while  he  sat  down  panting  on  a  stone.  Thus 
several  hours  passed,  until  they  came  to  a  glen  in  which 
the  blueberries  grew  so  thickly  that  you  couldn't  step 
without  crushing  a  handful.  The  boys  gave  a  shout  of 

*  The  national  knife  of  Norway.  It  has  a  round  or  oblong  handle  of 
wood,  bone,  or  ivory,  often  beautifully  carved,  and  a  slightly  curved,  one- 
edged  blade,  with  a  sharp  point 


MIKKEL.  43 

delight  and  flung  themselves  down,  heedless  of  their 
clothes,  and  began  to  eat  with  boyish  greed.  As  far  as 
their  eyes  could  reach  between  the  mossy  pine  trunks, 
the  ground  was  blue  with  berries,  except  where  bunches 
of  ferns  or  clusters  of  wild  flowers  intercepted  the  view 
When  they  had  dulled  the  edge  of  their  hunger,  they  be- 
gan to  cut  the  branches  from  the  trees  which  the  lum- 
bermen had  felled,  and  Ole  Thomlemo,  who  was  clever 
with  his  hands,  twisted  withes,  which  they  used  instead 
of  ropes  for  tying  their  bundles  together.  They  had 
one  bundle  well  secured  and  another  under  way,  when 
Ole,  with  a  mischievous  expression,  ran  over  to  Lars  and 
whispered  something  in  his  ear. 

"  Let  us  play  hide-and-seek,"  said  Lars  aloud,  glancing 
over  toward  his  little  brother,  who  was  working  like  a 
Trojan,  breaking  the  faggots  so  as  to  make  them  all  the 
same  length. 

Thor,  who  in  spite  of  many  exasperating  experiences 
had  not  yet  learned  to  be  suspicious,  threw  down  an 
armful  of  dry  boughs  and  answered  :  "  Yes,  let  us,  boys. 
I  am  in  for  anything." 

"Til  blind  first,"  cried  Ole  Thomlemo;  "now,  be 
quick  and  get  yourselves  hidden." 

And  off  the  two  brothers  ran,  while  Ole  turned  his 
face  against  a  big  tree  and  covered  his  eyes  with  his 
hands.  But  the  very  moment  Thor  was  out  of  sight, 
Lars  stole  back  again  to  his  friend,  and  together  they 
slipped  away  under  cover  of  the  bushes,  until  they 
reached  the  lower  end  of  the  glen.  There,  they  pulled 
out  their  fish-lines,  cut  rods  with  their  hatchets,  and  went 


44  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

down  to  the  tarn,  or  brook,  which  was  only  a  short  dis* 
tance  off ;  the  fishing  was  excellent,  and  when  the  large 
speckled  trout  began  to  leap  out  of  the  water  to  catch 
their  flies,  the  two  boys  soon  ceased  to  trouble  them- 
selves about  little  Thor,  who,  they  supposed,  was  hiding 
under  some  bush  and  waiting  to  be  discovered. 

In  this  supposition  they  were  partly  right  and  partly 
wrong. 

No  sooner  had  Ole  Thomlemo  given  the  signal  for 
hiding,  than  Thor  ran  up  the  hill-side,  stumbling  over 
the  moss-grown  stones,  pushing  the  underbrush  aside 
with  his  hands,  and  looking  eagerly  for  a  place  where  he 
would  be  least  likely  to  be  found.  He  was  full  of  the 
spirit  of  the  game,  and  anticipated  with  joyous  excite- 
ment the  wonder  of  the  boys  when  they  should  have  to 
give  up  the  search  and  call  to  him  to  reveal  himself. 
While  these  thoughts  were  filling  his  brain,  he  caught 
sight  of  a  huge  old  fir-tree,  which  was  leaning  down  the 
mountain-side  as  if  ready  to  fall.  The  wind  had  evi- 
dently given  it  a  pull  in  the  top,  strong  enough  to  loosen 
its  hold  on  the  ground,  and  yet  not  strong  enough  to 
overthrow  it.  On  the  upper  side,  for  a  dozen  yards  or 
more,  the  thick,  twisted  roots,  with  the  soil  and  turf  still 
clinging  to  them,  had  been  lifted,  so  as  to  form  a  little 
den  about  two  feet  wide  at  the  entrance.  Here,  thought 
Thor,  was  a  wonderful  hiding-place.  Chuckling  to  him- 
self at  the  discomfiture  of  his  comrades,  he  threw  himself 
down  on  his  knees  and  thrust  his  head  into  the  open- 
ing. To  his  surprise  the  bottom  felt  soft  to  his  hands, 
as  if  it  had  been  purposely  covered  with  moss  and  a  layer 


M2KKEL.  45 

of  feathers  and  eider-down.  He  did  not  take  heed  of  the 
peculiar  wild  smell  which  greeted  his  nostrils,  but  fear- 
lessly pressed  on,  until  nearly  his  whole  figure,  with  the 
exception  of  the  heels  of  his  boots,  was  hidden.  Then  a 
sharp  little  bark  startled  him,  and  raising  his  head  he  saw 
eight  luminous  eyes  staring  at  him  from  a  dark  recess,  a 
few  feet  beyond  his  nose.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  he 
was  a  little  frightened ;  for  it  instantly  occurred  to  him 
that  he  had  unwittingly  entered  the  den  of  some  wild 
beast,  and  that,  in  case  the  old  ones  were  at  home,  there 
was  small  chance  of  his  escaping  with  a  whole  skin.  It 
could  hardly  be  a  bear's  den,  for  the  entrance  was  not 
half  big  enough  for  a  gentleman  of  Bruin's  size.  It  might 
possibly  be  a  wolfs  premises  he  was  trespassing  upon, 
and  the  idea  made  his  blood  run  cold.  For  Mr.  Gray- 
legs,  as  the  Norwegians  call  the  wolf,  is  not  to  be  trifled 
with  ;  and  a  small  boy  armed  only  with  a  knife  was 
hardly  a  match  for  such  an  antagonist.  Thor  concluded, 
without  much  reflection,  that  his  safest  plan  would  be  to 
beat  a  hasty  retreat.  Digging  his  hands  into  the  mossy 
ground,  he  tried  to  push  himself  backward,  but,  to  his 
unutterable  dismay,  he  could  not  budge  an  inch.  The 
feathers,  interspersed  with  the  smooth  pine-needles, 
slipped  away  under  his  fingers,  and  the  roots  caught 
in  his  clothes  and  held  him  as  in  a  vice.  He  tried  to 
force  his  way,  but  the  more  he  wriggled  the  more  he 
realized  how  small  was  his  chance  of  escape.  To  turn 
was  impossible,  and  to  pull  off  his  coat  and  trousers  was 
a  scarcely  less  difficult  task.  It  was  fortunate  that  the 
four  inhabitants  of  the  den,  to  whom  the  glaring  eyes 


46  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

belonged,  seemed  no  less  frightened  than  himself;  for 
they  remained  huddled  together  in  their  corner,  and 
showed  no  disposition  to  fight.  They  only  stared  wildly 
at  the  intruder,  and  seemed  anxious  to  know  what  he 
intended  to  do  next.  And  Thor  stared  at  them  in  re- 
turn, although  the  darkness  was  so  dense  that  he  could 
discern  nothing  except  the  eight  luminous  eyes,  which 
were  fixed  upon  him  with  an  uncanny  and  highly  un- 
comfortable expression.  Unpleasant  as  the  situation 
was,  he  began  to  grow  accustomed  to  it,  and  he  collected 
his  scattered  thoughts  sufficiently  to  draw  certain  con- 
clusions. The  size  of  the  den,  as  well  as  the  feathers 
which  everywhere  met  his  fumbling  hands,  convinced 
him  that  his  hosts  were  young  foxes,  and  that  probably 
their  respected  parents,  for  the  moment,  were  on  a  raid 
in  search  of  rabbits  or  stray  poultry.  That  reflection 
comforted  him,  for  he  had  never  known  a  fox  to  use  any 
other  weapon  of  defence  than  its  legs,  unless  it  was 
caught  in  a  trap  and  had  to  fight  for  bare  life.  He  was 
just  dismissing  from  his  mind  all  thought  of  danger  from 
that  source,  when  a  sudden  sharp  pain  in  his  heel  put  an 
end  to  his  reasoning.  He  gave  a  scream,  at  which  the 
eight  eyes  leaped  apart  in  pairs  and  distributed  them- 
selves in  a  row  along  the  curving  wall  of  the  den.  An- 
other bite  in  his  ankle  convinced  him  that  he  was  being 
attacked  from  behind,  and  he  knew  no  other  way  of  de- 
fence than  to  kick  with  all  his  might,  screaming  at  the 
same  time  so  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  boys,  who, 
he  supposed,  could  hardly  be  far  off.  But  his  voice 
sounded  choked  and  feeble  in  the  close  den,  and  he 


MIKKEL.  47 

feared  that  no  one  would  be  able  to  hear  it  ten  yards 
away.  The  strong  odor,  too,  began  to  stifle  him,  and  a 
strange  dizziness  wrapped  his  senses,  as  it  were,  in  a  gray, 
translucent  veil.  He  made  three  or  four  spasmodic  ef- 
forts to  rouse  himself,  screamed  feebly,  and  kicked  ;  but 
probably  he  struck  his  wounded  ankle  against  a  root  or 
a  stone,  for  the  pain  shot  up  his  leg  and  made  him  clinch 
his  teeth  to  keep  the  tears  from  starting.  He  thought 
of  his  poor  mother,  whom  he  feared  he  should  never  see 
again,  and  how  she  would  watch  for  his  return  through 
the  long  night  and  cry  for  him,  as  it  said  in  the  Bible 
that  Jacob  cried  over  Joseph  when  he  supposed  that  a 
wild  beast  had  torn  him  to  pieces  and  killed  him.  Curi- 
ous lights,  like  shooting  stars,  began  to  move  before  his 
eyes ;  his  tongue  felt  dry  and  parched,  and  his  throat 
seemed  burning  hot.  It  occurred  to  him  that  certainly 
God  saw  his  peril  and  might  yet  help  him,  if  he  only 
prayed  for  help  ;  but  the  only  prayer  which  he  could  re- 
member was  the  one  which  the  minister  repeated  every 
Sunday  for  "  our  most  gracious  sovereign,  Oscar  II., 
and  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  Kingdoms."  Next 
he  stumbled  upon  "  the  clergy,  and  the  congregations 
committed  to  their  charge ;  "  and  he  was  about  to  finish 
with  "sailors  in  distress  at  sea,"  when  his  words,  like  his 
thoughts,  grew  more  and  more  hazy,  and  he  drifted  away 
into  unconsciousness. 

Lars  and  Ole  Thomlemo  in  the  meanwhile  had  en- 
joyed themselves  to  the  top  of  their  bent,  and  when  they 
had  caught  a  dozen  trout,  among  which  was  one  three- 
pounder,  they  reeled  up  their  lines,  threaded  the  fish  on 


48  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

withes,  and  began  to  trudge  leisurely  up  the  glen.  When 
they  came  to  the  place  where  they  had  left  their  bundles 
of  faggots,  they  stopped  to  shout  for  Thor,  and  when 
they  received  no  reply,  they  imagined  that,  being  tired 
of  waiting,  he  had  gone  home  alone,  or  fallen  in  with 
some  one  who  was  on  his  way  down  to  the  valley.  The 
only  thing  that  troubled  them  was  that  Thor's  bundle 
had  not  been  touched  since  they  left  him,  and  they  knew 
that  the  boy  was  not  lazy,  and  that,  moreover,  he  would 
be  afraid  to  go  home  without  the  faggots.  They  there- 
fore concluded  to  search  the  copse  and  the  surrounding 
underbrush,  as  it  was  just  possible  that  he  might  have 
fallen  asleep  in  his  hiding-place  while  waiting  to  be  dis- 
covered. 

"  I  think  Thor  is  napping  somewhere  under  the 
bushes,"  cried  Ole  Thomlemo,  swinging  his  hatchet 
over  his  head  like  an  Indian  tomahawk.  "  We  shall 
have  to  halloo  pretty  loud,  for  you  know  he  sleeps  like 
a  top." 

And  they  began  scouring  the  underbrush,  traversing 
it  in  all  directions,  and  hallooing  lustily,  both  singly  and 
in  chorus.  They  were  just  about  giving  up  the  quest, 
when  Lars's  attention  was  attracted  by  two  foxes  which, 
undismayed  by  the  noise,  were  running  about  a  large 
fir-tree,  barking  in  a  way  which  betrayed  anxiety,  and 
stopping  every  minute  to  dig  up  the  ground  with  their 
fore-paws.  When  the  boys  approached  the  tree,  the 
foxes  ran  only  a  short  distance,  then  stopped,  ran  back, 
and  again  fled,  once  more  to  return. 

"  Those  fellows  act  very  queerly,"  remarked  Lars,  eying 


MIfCKEL.  49 

the  foxes  curiously ;  "  I'll  wager  there  are  young  un's 
under  the  tree  here,  but " — Lars  gasped  for  breath — "  Ole 
— Ole— Oh,  look  !  What  is  this  ?  " 

Lars  had  caught  sight  of  a  pair  of  heels,  from  which  a 
little  stream  of  blood  had  been  trickling,  coloring  the 
stones  and  pine-needles.  Ole  Thomlemo,  hearing  his 
comrade's  exclamation  of  fright,  was  on  the  spot  in  an 
instant,  and  he  comprehended  at  once  how  everything 
had  happened. 

"  Look  here,  Lars,"  he  said,  resolutely,  "  this  is  no 
time  for  crying.  If  Thor  is  dead,  it  is  we  who  have 
killed  him ;  but  if  he  isn't  dead,  we've  got  to  save 
him." 

"  Oh,  what  shall  we  do,  Ole  ?  "  sobbed  Lars,  while  the 
tears  rolled  down  over  his  cheeks,  "  what  shall  we  do  ?  I 
shall  never  dare  go  home  again  if  he  is  dead.  We  have 
been  so  very  bad  to  him  ! " 

"  We  have  got  to  save  him,  I  tell  you,"  repeated  Ole, 
tearless  and  stern :  "  we  must  pull  him  out ;  and  if  we 
can't  do  that,  we  must  cut  through  the  roots  of  this  fir- 
tree  ;  then  it'll  plunge  down  the  mountain-side,  without 
hurting  him.  A  few  roots  that  have  burrowed  into  the 
rocks  are  all  that  keep  the  tree  standing.  Now,  act  like 
a  man.  Take  hold  of  him  by  one  heel  and  I'll  take  the 
other." 

Lars,  who  looked  up  to  his  friend  as  a  kind  of  superior 
being,  dried  his  tears  and  grasped  his  brother's  foot,  while 
Ole  carefully  handled  the  wounded  ankle.  But  their 
combined  efforts  had  no  perceptible  effect,  except  to 
show  how  inextricably  the  poor  lad's  clothes  were  mter- 
4 


50  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

tangled  with  the  tree-roots,  which,  growing  all  in  one  di- 
rection, made  entrance  easy,  but  exit  impossible. 

"  That  won't  do,"  said  Ole,  after  three  vain  trials.  "  We 
might  injure  him  without  knowing  it,  driving  the  sharp 
roots  into  his  eyes  and  ears,  as  likely  as  not.  We've  got 
to  use  the  hatchets.  You  cut  that  root  and  Pll  manage 
this  one." 

Ole  Thomlemo  was  a  lumberman's  son,  and  since  he 
was  old  enough  to  walk  had  spent  his  life  in  the  forest. 
He  could  calculate  with  great  nicety  how  a  tree  would 
fall,  if  cut  in  a  certain  way,  and  his  skill  in  this  instance 
proved  valuable.  With  six  well-directed  cuts  he  severed 
one  big  root,  while  Lars  labored  at  a  smaller  one.  Soon 
with  a  great  crash  the  mighty  tree  fell  down  the  moun- 
tain-side, crushing  a  dozen  birches  and  smaller  pines 
under  its  weight.  The  moss-grown  sod  around  about 
was  torn  up  with  the  remaining  roots,  and  three  pretty 
little  foxes,  blinded  and  stunned  by  the  rush  of  daylight, 
sprang  out  from  their  hole  and  stared  in  bewilderment 
at  the  sudden  change  of  scene.  Through  the  cloud  of 
flying  dust  and  feathers  the  boys  discerned,  too,  Thor's 
insensible  form,  lying  outstretched,  torn  and  bleeding, 
his  face  resting  upon  his  hands,  as  if  he  were  asleep. 
With  great  gentleness  they  lifted  him  up,  brushed  the 
moss  and  earth  from  his  face  and  clothes,  and  placed 
him  upon  the  grass  by  the  side  of  the  brook  which  flowed 
through  the  bottom  of  the  glen.  Although  his  body  was 
warm,  they  could  hardly  determine  whether  he  was  dead 
or  alive,  for  he  seemed  scarcely  to  be  breathing,  and  it 
was  not  until  Ole  put  a  feather  before  his  mouth  and 


M  IKK  EL.  51 

perceived  its  faint  inward  and  outward  movement,  that 
they  felt  reassured  and  began  to  take  heart.  They 
bathed  his  temples  with  the  cool  mountain  water  and 
rubbed  and  chafed  his  hands,  until  at  last  he  opened  his 
eyes  wonderingly  and  moved  his  lips,  as  if  endeavoring 
to  speak. 

"  Where  am  I  ? "  he  whispered  at  last,  after  several 
vain  efforts  to  make  himself  heard. 

"  Why,  cheer  up,  old  fellow,"  answered  Ole,  encourag- 
ingly ;  "  you  have  had  a  little  accident,  that's  all,  but 
you'll  be  all  right  in  a  minute." 

"  Unbutton  my  vest,"  whispered  Thor  again  ;  "  there  is 
something  scratching  me  here." 

He  put  his  hand  over  his  heart,  and  the  boys  quickly 
tore  his  watstcoat  open,  but  to  their  unutterable  astonish- 
ment a  little  fox,  the  image  of  the  three  that  had  escaped, 
put  his  head .  out  and  looked  about  him  with  his  alert 
eyes,  as  if  to  say :  "  Here  am  I ;  how  do  you  like  me  ?" 
He  evidently  felt  so  comfortable  where  he  was,  that  he 
had  no  desire  to  get  away.  No  doubt  the  little  creature, 
prompted  either  by  his  curiosity  or  a  desire  to  escape 
from  the  den,  had  crept  into  Thor's  bosom  while  he  was 
insensible,  and,  finding  his  quarters  quite  to  his  taste, 
had  concluded  to  remain.  Lars  picked  him  up,  tied  a 
string  about  his  neck,  and  put  him  in  the  side  pocket  of 
his  jacket.  Then,  as  it  was  growing  late,  Ole  lifted  Thor 
upon  his  back,  and  he  and  Lars  took  turns  in  carrying 
him  down  to  the  valley. 

Thor's  ankle  gave  him  some  trouble,  as  the  wound 
was  slow  in  healing.  With  that  exception,  he  was  soon 


52  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

himself  again;  and  he  and  Mikkel  (for  that  was  the 
name  he  gave  to  the  little  fox)  grew  to  be  great  friends 
and  had  many  a  frolic  together. 

But  the  little  fox  was  not  a  model  of  deportment,  as 
you  will  see  when  I  tell  you,  in  the  next  chapter,  how 
Mikkel  disgraced  himself. 


EL 

ROW  MIKKEL  DISGRACED   HIMSELF. 

When  Thor  was  twelve  years  old,  he  had  to  go  out 
into  the  world  to  make  his  own  living ;  for  his  parents 
were  poor,  and  they  had  half  a  dozen  younger  children, 
who  also  had  to  be  fed  and  clothed.  As  it  happened, 
Judge  Nannestad,  who  lived  on  a  large  estate  down  at 
the  fiord,  wanted  an  office-boy,  and  as  Thor  was  a  bright 
and  active  lad,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  situ- 
ation. The  only  question  was,  how  to  dispose  of  Mikkel ; 
for,  to  be  frank,  Mikkel  (in  spite  of  his  many  admirable 
traits)  was  not  a  general  favorite,  and  Thor  suspected 
that  when  his  protector  was  away  Mikkel  would  have  a 
hard  time  of  it.  He  well  knew  that  Mikkel  was  of  a 
peculiar  temperament,  which  required  to  be  studied  in 
order  to  be  appreciated,  and  as  there  was  no  one  but  him- 
self who  took  this  trouble,  he  did  not  wonder  that  his 
friend  was  generally  misunderstood.  Mikkel's  was  not  a 
nature  to  invite  confidences ;  he  scrupulously  kept  his 
own  counsel,  and  was  always  alert  and  on  his  guard. 
There  was  a  bland  expression  on  his  face,  a  kind  of  lurk- 
ing smile,  which  never  varied,  and  which  gave  absolutely 


54 


THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 


no  clew  to  his  thoughts.  When  he  had  skimmed  the 
cream  off  the  milk-pans  on  the  top  shelf  in  the  kitchen, 
he  returned,  licking  his  chops,  with  the  same  inscrutable 
smile,  as  if  his  conscience  were  as  clean  as  a  new-born 
babe's ;  and  when  he  had  slipped  his  collar  over  his  head 
and  dispatched  the  kitten,  burying  its  remains  in  the 
backyard,  he  betrayed  no  more  remorse  than  if  he  had 
been  cracking  a  nut.  Sultan,  the  dog,  strange  to  say, 
had  private  reasons  for  being  afraid  of  him,  and  always 
slank  away  in  a  shamefaced  manner,  whenever  Mikkel 
gave  him  one  of  his  quiet  sidelong  glances.  And  yet 
the  same  Mikkel  would  roll  on  his  back,  and  jump  and 
play  with  the  baby  by  the  hour,  seize  her  pudgy  little 
hands  gently  with  his  teeth,  never  inflicting  a  bite  or 
a  scratch.  He  would  nestle  on  Thor's  bosom  inside 
of  his  coat,  while  Thor  was  learning  his  lesson,  or  he 
would  sit  on  his  shoulder  and  look  down  on  the  book 
with  his  superior  smile.  It  was  not  to  be  denied  that 
Mikkel  had  a  curious  character — an  odd  mixture  of 
good  and  bad  qualities ;  but  as,  in  Thor's  judgment, 
the  good  were  by  far  the  more  prominent,  he  would 
not  listen  to  his  father's  advice  and  leave  his  friend 
behind  him,  when  he  went  down  to  the  judge's  at  the 
grand  estate. 

It  was  the  day  after  New-year's  that  Thor  left  the  cot- 
tage up  under  the  mountain,  and,  putting  on  his  skees, 
slid  down  the  steep  hill-side  to  the  fiord.  Mikkel  was 
nestling,  according  to  his  wont,  in  the  bosom  of  his  mas- 
ter's coat,  while  his  pretty  head,  with  the  clean  dark 
snout  and  dark  mustache,  was  sticking  out  above  the 


MIKKEL.  55 

boy's  collar,  just  under  his  chin.  Mikkel  had  never 
been  so  far  away  from  home  before,  and  he  concluded 
that  the  world  was  a  bigger  affair  than  he  had  been 
aware  of. 

It  was  with  a  loudly  thumping  heart  that  Thor  paused 
outside  the  door  of  the  judge's  office,  for  he  greatly 
feared  that  the  judge  might  share  the  general  prejudice 
against  Mikkel,  and  make  difficulties  about  his  board 
and  lodgings.  Instead  of  entering,  he  went  to  the  pump 
in  the  yard  and  washed  his  friend's  face  carefully  and 
combed  his  hair  with  the  fragment  of  a  comb  with  which 
his  mother  had  presented  him  at  parting.  It  was  im- 
portant that  Mikkel  should  appear  to  advantage,  so  as  to 
make  a  good  impression  upon  the  judge.  And  really  he 
did  look  irresistible,  Thor  thought,  with  his  bright,  black 
eyes,  his  dainty  paws,  and  his  beautiful  red  skin.  He 
felt  satisfied  that  if  the  judge  had  not  a  heart  of  stone 
he  could  not  help  being  captivated  at  the  sight  of  so 
lovely  a  creature.  Thor  took  courage  and  knocked  at 
the  door. 

"  Ah,  you  are  our  new  office-boy,"  said  the  judge,  as 
he  entered;  "but  what  is  that  you  have  under  your 
coat?" 

"  It  is  Mikkel,  sir,  please  your  Honor,"  stammered 
Thor,  putting  the  fox  on  the  floor,  so  as  to  display  his 
charms.  But  hardly  had  he  taken  his  hands  off  him, 
when  a  sudden  scrambling  noise  was  heard  in  the  ad- 
joining office,  and  a  large  hound  came  bounding  with 
wild  eyes  and  drooping  tongue  through  the  open  door. 
With  lightning  speed  Mikkel  leaped  up  on  the  judge's 


56  THE  MODERN-  VIKINGS. 

writing-desk,  scattering  his  writing  materials,  upsetting 
an  inkstand  by  an  accidental  whisk  of  his  tail,  and  be- 
spattering the  honorable  gentleman's  face  and  shirt-front 
with  the  black  fluid.  To  perform  a  similar  service 
on  the  next  desk,  where  a  clerk  was  writing,  to  jump 
from  there  to  the  shoulder  of  a  marble  bust,  which  fell 
from  its  pedestal  down  on  the  hound's  head  and  broke 
into  a  dozen  pieces,  and  to  reach  a  place  of  safety  on 
the  top  of  a  tall  bookcase  were  all  a  moment's  work. 
The  hound  lay  howling,  with  a  wounded  nose,  on  the 
floor.  The  judge  stood  scowling  at  his  desk,  rubbing 
the  ink  all  over  his  face  with  his  handkerchief,  and 
Mikkel  sat  smiling  on  the  top  of  the  bookcase,  survey- 
ing calmly  the  ruin  which  he  had  wrought.  But  the 
most  miserable  creature  in  the  room  was  neither  the 
judge,  with  his  black  face,  nor  the  hound,  with  the  bleed- 
ing nose  ;  it  was  Thor,  who  stood  trembling  at  the  door, 
expecting  that  something  still  more  terrible  would  hap- 
pen. And  knowing  that,  after  having  caused  such  a  com- 
motion, his  place  was  forfeited,  he  held  out  his  arms  to 
Mikkel,  who  accepted  the  invitation,  and  with  all  speed 
at  their  disposal  they  rushed  out  through  the  door  and 
away  over  the  snowy  fields,  scarcely  knowing  whither 
their  feet  bore  them. 

After  half  an  hour's  run,  when  he  had  no  more  breath 
left,  Thor  seated  himself  on  a  tree-stump  and  tried  to 
collect  his  thoughts.  What  should  he  now  do  ?  Where 
should  he  turn  ?  Go  home  he  could  not ;  and  if  he  did, 
it  would  be  the  end  of  Mikkel.  The  only  thing  he  could 
think  of  was  to  go  around  in  the  parish,  from  farm  to 


MIKKEL.  57 

farm,  until  he  found  somebody  who  would  give  him  some- 
thing to  do. 

"  I  hope  you  will  appreciate,  my  dear  Mikkel,"  he  said 
to  his  fox,  "  that  it  is  on  your  account  I  have  all  this 
trouble.  It  was  very  naughty  of  you  to  behave  so  badly, 
and  if  you  do  it  again  I  shall  have  to  whip  you  !  Do 
you  understand  that,  Mikkel  ?  " 

Mikkel  looked  sheepish,  which  plainly  showed  that  he 
understood. 

"  Now,  Mikkel,"  Thor  continued,  "  we  will  go  to  the 
parson  ;  perhaps  he  may  have  some  use  for  us.  What 
do  you  think  of  trying  the  parson  ?  " 

Mikkel  apparently  thought  well  of  the  parson,  for  he 
licked  his  master  behind  his  ear  and  rubbed  his  snout 
against  his  cheek.  Accordingly,  by  noon  they  reached 
the  parsonage,  and  after  a  long  parley  with  the  pastor's 
wife,  he  was  engaged  as  a  sort  of  errand-boy,  whose  duty 
it  should  be  to  do  odd  jobs  about  the  house.  Mikkel 
was  to  have  a  kennel  provided  for  him  in  the  stable,  but 
was  under  no  circumstances  to  enter  the  house.  Thor 
had  to  vouch  for  his  good  behavior,  and  the  moment  he 
made  himself  in  any  way  obnoxious  it  was  decided  that 
he  should  be  killed.  Poor  Thor  had  nominally  to  ac- 
cept these  hard  conditions,  but  in  his  own  mind  he  de- 
termined to  run  away  with  Mikkel  the  moment  he  was 
caught  in  any  kind  of  mischief.  It  seemed  very  hard  for 
Mikkel,  too,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  sleep  in  Thor's 
arms  in  his  warm  bed,  to  be  chained,  and  to  spend  the 
long,  dark  nights  in  the  stable  in  a  miserable  kennel. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  no  help  for  it ;  so  Thor  went  to 


58  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

work  that  same  afternoon  and  made  Mikkel  as  comfort- 
able a  kennel  as  he  could,  taking  care  to  make  the  hole 
which  served  for  entrance  no  bigger  than  it  had  to 
be,  so  that  no  dog  or  other  enemy  should  be  able  to 
enter. 

For  about  four  months  all  went  well  at  the  parsonage. 
So  long  as  Mikkel  was  confined  in  the  stable  he  behaved 
himself  with  perfect  propriety,  and,  occasionally,  when 
he  was  (by  special  permission)  taken  into  the  house  to 
play  with  the  children,  he  won  golden  opinions  for  him- 
self by  his  cunning  tricks,  and  became,  in  fact,  a  great 
favorite  in  the  nursery.  When  the  spring  came  and  the 
sun  grew  warm,  his  kennel  was,  at  Thor's  request,  moved 
out  into  the  yard,  where  he  could  have  the  benefit  of  the 
fine  spring  weather.  There  he  could  be  seen  daily,  lying 
in  the  sun,  with  half-closed  eyes,  resting  his  head  on  his 
paws,  seeming  too  drowsy  and  comfortable  to  take  notice 
of  anything.  The  geese  and  hens,  which  were  at  first  a 
trifle  suspicious,  gradually  grew  accustomed  to  his  pres- 
ence, and  often  strayed  within  range  of  Mikkel's  chain, 
and  even  within  reach  of  his  paws ;  but  it  always  hap- 
pened that  on  such  occasions  either  the  pastor  or  his 
wife  was  near,  and  Mikkel  knew  enough  to  be  aware  that 
goose  was  forbidden  fruit.  But  one  day  (it  was  just  after 
dinner,  when  the  pastor  was  taking  his  nap),  it  happened 
that  a  great  fat  gander,  prompted  by  a  pardonable  curi- 
osity, stretched  his  neck  a  little  too  far  toward  the  sleep- 
ing Mikkel ;  when,  quick  as  a  wink  and  wide-awake,  Mr. 
Mikkel  jumped  up,  and  before  he  knew  it,  the  gander 
found  himself  minus  his  head.  Very  cautiously  the  cul- 


MIKKEL.  59 

prit  peered  about,  and  seeing  no  one  near,  he  rapidly  dug 
a  hole  under  his  kennel  and  concealed  his  victim  there, 
covering  it  well  with  earth,  until  a  more  favorable  op- 
portunity should  present  itself  for  making  a  meal  of  it. 
Then  he  lay  down,  and  stretched  himself  in  the  sun  as 
before,  and  seemed  too  sleepy  even  to  open  his  eyes ; 
and  when,  on  the  following  day,  the  gander  was  missed, 
the  innocent  demeanor  of  Mikkel  so  completely  im- 
posed upon  everyone,  that  he  was  not  even  suspected. 
Not  even  when  the  second  and  the  third  goose  disap- 
peared could  any  reasonable  charge  be  brought  against 
Mikkel. 

When  the  summer  vacation  came,  however,  the  even 
tenor  of  Mikkel's  existence  was  rudely  interrupted  by 
the  arrival  of  the  parson's  oldest  son,  Finn,  who  was  a 
student  in  Christiania,  and  his  dog  Achilles.  Achilles 
was  a  handsome  brown  pointer,  that,  having  been 
brought  up  in  the  city,  had  never  been  accustomed  to 
look  upon  the  fox  as  a  domestic  animal.  He,  therefore, 
spent  much  of  his  time  in  harassing  Mikkel/  making 
sudden  rushes  for  him  when  he  thought  him  asleep ; 
but  always  returning  from  these  exploits  shamefaced 
and  discomfited,  for  Mikkel  was  always  a  great  deal  too 
clever  to  be  taken  by  surprise.  He  would  lie  perfectly 
still  until  Achilles  was  within  a  foot  of  him,  and  then, 
with  remarkable  alertness,  he  would  slip  into  the  ken- 
nel, through  his  door,  where  the  dog's  size  would  not 
permit  him  to  follow ;  and  the  moment  his  enemy 
turned  his  tail  to  him,  Mikkel's  face  would  appea' 
bland  and  smiling,  at  the  door,  as  if  to  say : 


60  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

"  Good-by !  Call  again  whenever  you  feel  like  it 
Now,  don't  you  wish  you  were  as  clever  as  I  am  ?  " 

And  yet  in  spite  of  his  daily  defeats,  Achilles  could 
never  convince  himself  that  his  assaults  upon  Mikkel 
brought  him  no  glory.  Perhaps  his  master,  who  did  not 
like  Mikkel  any  too  well,  encouraged  him  in  his  enmity, 
for  it  is  certain  that  the  assaults  grew  fiercer  daily.  And 
at  last,  one  day  when  the  young  student  was  standing  in 
the  yard,  holding  his  dog  by  the  collar,  while  exciting 
him  against  the  half-sleeping  fox,  Achilles  ran  with  such 
force  against  the  kennel  that  he  upset  it.  Alas !  For 
then  the  evidence  of  Mikkel's  misdemeanors  came  to 
light.  From  the  door-hole  of  the  rolling  kennel  a  heap 
of  goose-feathers  flew  out,  and  were  scattered  in  the  air ; 
and,  what  was  worse,  a  little  "dug-out"  became  visible, 
filled  with  bones  and  bills  and  other  indigestible  articles, 
unmistakably  belonging  to  the  goose's  anatomy.  Mikkel, 
who  was  too  wise  to  leave  the  kennel  so  long  as  it  was 
in  motion,  now  peeped  cautiously  out,  and  he  took  in 
the  situation  at  a  glance.  Mr.  Finn,  the  student,  who 
thought  that  Mikkel's  skin  would  look  charming  as  a 
rug  before  his  fire-place  in  the  city,  was  overjoyed  to  find 
out  what  a  rascal  this  innocent-looking  creature  had  been ; 
for  he  knew  well  enough  that  his  father  would  now  no 
longer  oppose  his  desire  for  the  crafty  little  creature's 
skin.  So  he  went  into  the  house,  loaded  his  rifle,  and 
prepared  himself  as  executioner. 

But  at  that  very  moment,  Thor  chanced  to  be  coming 
home  from  an  errand;  and  he  had  hardly  entered  the 
yard,  when  he  sniffed  danger  in  the  air.  He  knew,  with- 


MIKKEL.  6f 

out  asking,  that  Mikkel's  doom  was  sealed.  For  the 
parson  was  a  great  poultry-fancier  and  was  said  to  be 
more  interested  in  his  ganders  than  he  was  in  his  chil- 
dren. Therefore,  without  waiting  for  further  develop- 
ments, Thor  unhooked  Mikkel's  chain,  lifted  the  culprit 
in  his  arms,  and  slipped  him  into  the  bosom  of  his  waist- 
coat. Then  he  stole  up  to  his  garret,  gathered  his  clothes 
in  a  bundle,  and  watched  his  chance  to  escape  from  the 
house  unnoticed.  And  while  Master  Finn  and  his  dog 
were  hunting  high  and  low  for  Mikkel  in  the  barns  and 
stables,  Thor  was  hurrying  away  over  the  fields,  every 
now  and  then  glancing  anxiously  behind  him,  and  nearly 
smothering  Mikkel  in  his  efforts  to  keep  him  concealed, 
lest  Achilles  should  catch  his  scent.  But  Mikkel  had 
his  own  views  on  that  subject,  and  was  not  to  be  sup- 
pressed ;  and  just  as  his  master  was  congratulating  him- 
self on  their  happy  escape,  they  heard  the  deep  baying 
of  a  dog,  and  saw  Achilles,  followed  by  the  student  with 
his  gun,  tracking  them  in  fierce  pursuit.  Thor,  whose 
only  hope  w?s  to  reach  the  fiord,  redoubled  his  speed, 
skipped  across  fences,  hedges,  and  stiles,  and  ran  so  fast 
that  earth  and  stones  seemed  to  be  flying  in  the  other 
direction.  Yet  Achilles'  baying  was  coming  nearer  and 
nearer,  and  was  hardly  twenty  feet  distant  by  the 
time  the  boy  had  flung  himself  into  a  boat,  arid  with 
four  vigorous  oar-strokes  had  shot  out  into  the  water. 
The  dog  leaped  after  him,  but  was  soon  beyond  his 
depth,  and  the  high  breakers  flung  him  back  upon  the 
beach. 

"  Come  back  at  once,"  cried  Finn,  imperiously.     "  It 


62  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

is  not  your  boat.  If  you  don't  obey,  111  have  you  ar- 
rested." 

Thor  did  not  answer,  but  rowed  with  all  his  might. 

"  If  you  take  another  stroke,"  shouted  the  student  furi- 
ously, levelling  his  gun,  "  I'll  shoot  both  you  and  your 
thievish  fox." 

It  was  meant  only  for  intimidation ;  but  where  Mik- 
kel's  life  was  at  stake,  Thor  was  not  easily  frightened. 

"  Shoot  away  ! "  he  cried,  thinking  that  he  was  now  at 
a  safe  distance,  and  that  the  student's  marksmanship  was 
none  of  the  best.  But  before  he  realized  what  he  had 
said,  whiz  !  went  a  bullet  over  his  head.  A  stiff  gale  was 
blowing,  and  the  little  boat  was  tossed  like  a  foot-ball  on 
the  incoming  and  the  outgoing  waves ;  but  the  plucky 
lad  struggled  on  bravely,  until  he  hove  alongside  a  fish- 
ing schooner,  which  was  to  sail  the  next  morning  for 
Drontheim.  Fortunately  the  skipper  needed  a  deck 
hand,  and  Thor  was  promptly  engaged.  The  boat  which 
had  helped  him  to  escape  was  found  later  and  towed 
back  to  shore  by  a  fisherman. 


III. 

HOW  MIKKEL  MAKES   HIS   FORTUNE. 

In  Drontheim,  which  is  a  large  commercial  city  on  the 
western  coast  of  Norway,  Thor  soon  found  occupation  as 
office-boy  in  a  bank,  which  did  business  under  the  name 
of  C.  P.  Lyng  &  Co.  He  was  a  boy  of  an  open,  fearless 
countenance,  and  with  a  frank  and  winning  manner. 
Mr.  Lyng,  at  the  time  when  Thor  entered  his  employ, 
had  just  separated  from  his  partner,  Mr.  Tulstrup,  be- 
cause the  latter  had  defrauded  the  firm  and  several  of  its 
customers.  Mr.  Lyng  had  papers  in  his  safe  which 
proved  Mr.  Tulstrup's  guilt,  but  he  had  contented  him- 
self with  dismissing  him  from  the  firm,  and  had  allowed 
him  to  take  the  share  of  the  firm's  property  to  which  he 
was  legally  entitled.  The  settlement,  however,  had  not 
satisfied  Mr.  Tulstrup,  and  he  had,  in  order  to  revenge  him- 
self, gone  about  to  the  various  customers,  whom  he  had 
himself  defrauded,  and  persuaded  them  to  commence  suit 
against  Mr.  Lyng,  whom  he  represented  as  being  the 
guilty  party.  He  did  not,  at  that  time,  know  that  Mr. 
Lyng  had  gained  possession  of  the  papers  which  revealed 
the  real  author  of  the  fraud.  On  the  contrary,  he  flat- 


64  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

tered  himself  that  he  had  destroyed  every  trace  of  his 
own  dishonest  transactions. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Lyng  belonged  to  a  family  which 
had  always  been  distinguished,  in  business  and  social  cir- 
cles, for  its  integrity  and  honor  only  whetted  Tulstrup's 
desire  to  destroy  his  good  name,  and  having  laid  his 
plans  carefully,  he  anticipated  an  easy  triumph  over  hon- 
est Mr.  Lyng.  His  dismay,  therefore,  was  very  great 
when,  after  the  suit  had  been  commenced  in  the  courts, 
he  learned  that  it  was  his  own  name  and  liberty  which 
were  in  danger,  and  not  those  of  his  former  partner.  Mr. 
Tulstrup,  in  spite  of  the  position  he  had  occupied,  was 
a  desperate  man,  and  was  capable,  under  such  circum- 
stances, of  resorting  to  desperate  remedies.  But,  like 
most  Norwegians,  he  had  a  streak  of  superstition  in  his 
nature,  and  cherished  an  absurd  belief  in  signs  and  omens, 
in  lucky  and  unlucky  days,  and  in  spectres  and  appari- 
tions, foreboding  death  or  disaster.  Mr.  Tulstrup's  father 
had  believed  in  such  things,  and  it  had  been  currently 
reported  among  the  peasantry  that  he  had  been  followed 
by  a  spectral  fox,  which  some  asserted  to  be  his  wraith, 
or  double.  This  fox,  it  was  said,  had  frequently  been 
seen  during  the  old  man's  lifetime,  and  when  he  once  saw 
it  himself,  he  was  frightened  nearly  out  of  his  wits.  Su- 
perstitious stories  of  this  kind  are  so  common  in  Norway 
that  one  can  hardly  spend  a  month  in  any  country  dis- 
trict without  hearing  dozens  of  them.  The  belief  in  a 
fylgia,  or  wraith  in  the  shape  of  an  animal,  dates  far  back 
into  antiquity,  and  figures  largely  in  the  sagas,  or  ancient 
legends  of  the  Northland. 


MIKKEL.  65 

It  has  already  been  told  that  Thor  had  obtained  a  posi- 
tion as  office-boy  in  Mr.  Lyng's  bank ;  and  it  was  more 
owing  to  the  boy's  winning  appearance  than  to  any  fond- 
ness for  foxes,  on  Mr.  Lyng's  part,  that  Mikkel  also  was 
engaged.  It  was  arranged  that  a  cushion  whereupon 
Mikkel  might  sleep  should  be  put  behind  the  stove  in 
the  back  office.  At  first  Mikkel  endured  his  captivity 
here  with  great  fortitude ;  but  he  did  not  like  it,  and  it  was 
plain  that  he  was  pining  for  the  parsonage  and  his  kennel 
in  the  free  air,  and  the  pleasant  companionship  of  the 
geese  and  the  stupid  Achilles.  Thor  then  obtained  per- 
mission to  have  him  walk  about  unchained,  and  the  clerks, 
who  admired  his  graceful  form  and  dainty  ways,  soon 
grew  very  fond  of  him,  and  stroked  him  caressingly,  as 
he  promenaded  along  the  counter  or  seated  himself  on 
their  shoulders,  inspecting  their  accounts  with  critical 
eyes.  Thor  was  very  happy  to  see  his  friend  petted, 
though  he  had  an  occasional  twinge  of  jealousy  when 
Mikkel  made  himself  too  agreeable  to  old  Mr.  Barth,  the 
cashier,  or  kissed  young  Mr.  Dreyer,  the  assistant  book- 
keeper. Such  faithlessness  on  Mikkel's  part  was  an  ill 
return  for  all  the  sacrifices  Thor  had  made  for  him ;  and 
yet,  hard  as  it  was,  it  had  to  be  borne.  For  an  office-boy 
cannot  afford  to  have  emotions,  or,  if  he  has  them,  can- 
not afford  the  luxury  of  giving  way  to  them. 

C.  P.  Lyng  &  Co.'s  bank  was  a  solid,  old-fashioned 
business-house  which  the  clerks  entered  as  boys  and 
where  they  remained  all  their  lives.  Mr.  Barth,  the 
cashier,  had  occupied  his  present  desk  for  twenty-one 
years,  and  had  spent  nine  years  more  in  inferior  posi- 
5 


66  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

tions.  He  was  now  a  stout  little  man  of  fifty,  with  close 
cropped,  highly-respectable  side-whiskers  and  thin  gray 
hair,  which  was  made  to  cover  his  crown  by  the  aid  of  a 
small  comb.  This  comb,  which  was  fixed  above  his  right 
ear  and  held  the  straggling  locks  together,  was  a  source 
of  great  amusement  to  the  clerks,  who  made  no  end  of 
witticisms  about  it.  But  Mr.  Earth  troubled  himself 
very  little  about  their  poor  puns,  and  sat  serenely  poring 
over  his  books  and  packages  of  bank-bills  from  morning 
till  night.  He  prided  himself  above  all  on  his  regularity, 
and  it  was  said  that  he  had  never  been  one  minute  too 
late  or  too  early  during  the  thirty  years  he  had  been  in 
Mr.  Lyng's  bank ;  accordingly,  he  had  little  patience 
with  the  shortcomings  of  his  subordinates,  and  fined 
and  punished  them  in  various  ways,  if  they  were  but  a 
moment  tardy  ;  for  the  most  atrocious  of  all  crimes,  in 
Mr.  Earth's  opinion,  was  tardiness.  The  man  who  suf- 
fered most  from  his  severity  was  Mr.  Dreyer,  the  assist- 
ant book-keeper.  Mr.  Dreyer  was  a  good-looking  young 
man,  and  very  fond  of  society ;  and  it  happened  some- 
times that,  on  the  morning  after  a  ball,  he  would  sleep 
rather  late.  He  had  long  rebelled  in  silence  against  Mr. 
Earth's  tyranny,  and  when  he  found  that  his  dissatisfac- 
tion was  shared  by  many  of  the  other  clerks,  he  con- 
ceived a  plan  to  revenge  himself  on  his  persecutor.  To 
this  end  a  conspiracy  was  formed  among  the  younger 
clerks,  and  it  was  determined  to  make  Mikkel  the  agent 
of  their  vengeance. 

It  was  well  known  by  the  clerks  that  Mr.  Earth  was 
superstitious  and  afraid  in  the  dark;  and  it  was  generally 


M2KKEL.  6; 

agreed  that  it  would  be  capital  fun  to  give  him  a  little 
fright.  Accordingly  the  following  plan  was  adopted  :  A 
bottle  of  the  oil  of  phosphorus  was  procured  and  Mikkel's 
fur  was  thoroughly  rubbed  with  it,  so  that  in  the  dark  the 
whole  animal  would  be  luminous.  At  five  minutes  be- 
fore five,  someone  should  go  down  in  the  cellar  and  turn 
off  the  gas,  just  as  the  cashier  was  about  to  enter  the 
back  office  to  lock  up  the  safe.  Then,  when  the  illumi- 
nated Mikkel  glared  out  on  him  from  a  dark  corner,  he 
would  probably  shout  or  faint  or  cry  out,  and  then  all  the 
clerks  should  rush  sympathetically  to  him  and  render  him 
every  assistance. 

Thus  the  plan  was  laid,  and  there  was  a  breathless, 
excited  stillness  in  the  bank  when  the  hour  of  five  ap- 
proached. It  had  been  dark  for  two  hours,  and  the 
clerks  sat  on  their  high  stools,  bending  silently  over  their 
desks,  scribbling  away  for  dear  life.  Promptly  at  seven 
minutes  before  five,  up  rose  Mr.  Barth  and  gave  the  sig- 
nal to  have  the  books  closed ;  then,  to  the  unutterable 
astonishment  of  the  conspirators,  he  handed  the  key  of 
the  safe  to  Mr.  Dreyer  (who  knew  the  combination),  and 
told  him  to  lock  the  safe  and  return  the  key.  At  that 
very  instant,  out  went  the  gas  ;  and  Mr.  Dreyer,  although 
he  was  well  prepared,  could  himself  hardly  master  his 
fright  at  Mikkel's  terrible  appearance.  He  struck  a 
match,  lighted  a  wax  taper  (which  was  used  for  sealing 
letters),  and  tremblingly  locked  the  safe  ;  then,  abashed 
and  discomfited,  he  advanced  to  the  cashier's  desk  and 
handed  him  the  key. 

"  Perhaps  you  would  have  the  kindness,  Mr.  Dreyer," 


68  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

said  Mr.  Barth,  calmly,  "  to  write  a  letter  oC  complaint 
to  the  gas-company  before  you  go  home.  It  will  never 
do  in  the  world  to  have  such  things  happen.  I  suppose 
there  must  be  water  in  the  pipes." 

The  old  man  buttoned  his  overcoat  up  to  his  chin  and 
marched  out;  whereupon  a  shout  of  laughter  burst  forth, 
in  which  Mr.  Dreyer  did  not  join.  He  could  not  see 
what  they  found  to  laugh  at,  he  said.  It  took  him  a 
long  while  to  compose  his  letter  of  complaint  to  the  gas- 
company. 

Mikkel  in  the  meanwhile  was  feeling  very  uncomforta- 
ble. He  could  not  help  marvelling  at  his  extraordinary 
appearance.  He  rubbed  himself  against  chairs  and  tables, 
and  found  to  his  astonishment  that  he  made  everything 
luminous  that  he  touched.  He  had  never  known  any 
respectable  fox  which  possessed  this  accomplishment,  and 
he  felt  sure  that  in  some  way  something  was  wrong  with 
him.  He  could  not  sleep,  but  walked  restlessly  about  on 
the  desks  and  counters,  bristled  with  anger  at  the  slight- 
est sound,  and  was  miserable  and  excited.  He  could  not 
tell  how  far  the  night  had  advanced,  when  he  heard  a 
noise  in  the  back  office  (which  fronted  upon  the  court- 
yard) as  if  a  window  was  being  opened.  His  curiosity 
was  aroused  and  he  walked  sedately  across  the  floor; 
then  he  stopped  for  a  moment  to  compose  himself,  for  he 
was  well  aware  that  what  he  saw  was  something  extraor- 
dinary. A  man  with  a  dark-lantern  in  his  hand  was 
kneeling  before  the  safe  with  a  key  in  his  hand.  Mikkel 
advanced  a  little  farther  and  paused  in  a  threatening  atti- 
tude an  the  threshold  of  the  door.  With  his  luminous 


face  and  body,  and  a  halo  of  phosphorescent  light  round 
about  him,  l\e  was  terrible  to  behold.  He  gave  a  little 
snort,  at  which  the  man  turned  quickly  about.  But  no 
sooner  had  he  caught  sight  of  the  illuminated  Mikkel 
than  he  flung  himself  on  his  knees  before  the  little  ani- 
mal, and  with  clasped  hands  and  a  countenance  wild  with 
fear  exclaimed  :  *'  Oh,  I  know  who  thou  art !  Pardon 
me,  pardon  me  !  Thou  art  my  father's  spectral  fox  !  I 
know  thee,  I  know  thee !  " 

Mikkel  had  never  suspected  that  he  was  anything  so 
terrible ;  but,  as  he  saw  that  the  man  was  bent  on  mis- 
chief, he  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  contradict  him. 
He  only  curved  his  back  and  bristled,  until  the  man,  be- 
side himself  with  fear,  made  a  rush  for  the  window  and 
leaped  out  into  the  court-yard.  Then  Mikkel,  thinking 
that  he  had  had  excitement  enough  for  one  night,  curled 
himself  up  on  his  cushion  behind  the  stove  and  went  to 
sleep. 

The  next  morning,  when  Mr.  Bsrth  arrived,  he  found 
a  window  in  the  back  office  broken,  and  the  door  of  the 
safe  wide  open.  On  the  floor  lay  a  bundle  of  papers,  all 
relating  to  the  transactions  of  Tulstrup  while  a  member 
of  the  firm,  and,  moreover,  a  hat,  marked  on  the  inside 
with  Tulstrup's  name,  was  found  on  a  chair. 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Lyng  was  summoned  to  the 
bedside  of  his  former  partner,  who  made  a  full  confession, 
and  offered  to  return  through  him  the  money  which  he 
had  fraudulently  acquired.  His  leg  was  broken,  and  he 
seemed  otherwise  shattered  in  body  and  mind.  It  had 
been  his  purpose,  he  said,  to  drive  Mr.  Lyng  from  the 


TO  THE  MODERN-  VIKINGS. 

firm  in  disgrace,  and  he  was  sure  he  could  have  accom- 
plished it,  if  Providence  itself  had  not  interfered.  But, 
incredible  as  it  seemed,  he  had  seen  a  luminous  animal 
in  the  bank,  and  he  felt  convinced  that  it  was  his  father's 
spectral  fox.  It  was  well  enough  to  smile  at  such  things 
and  call  them  childish,  but  he  had  certainly  seen,  he 
said,  a  wonderful,  shining  fox. 

Mr.  Lyng  did  not  attempt  to  convince  Mr.  Tulstrup 
that  he  was  wrong.  He  took  the  money  and  distributed 
it  among  those  who  had  suffered  by  Mr.  Tulstrup's  frauds, 
and  thus  many  needy  people — widows  and  industrious 
laborers — regained  their  hard-earned  property,  and  all 
because  Mikkel's  skin  was  luminous.  When  Mr.  Lyng 
heard  the  whole  story  from  Mr.  Dreyer,  he  laughed 
heartily  and  long.  But  from  that  day  he  took  a  warm 
interest  in  Thor  and  his  fox,  and  sent  the  former  to 
school  and,  later,  to  the  university,  where  he  made  an 
honorable  name  for  himself  by  his  talents  and  industry. 

Poor  Mikkel  is  now  almost  gray,  and  his  teeth  are  so 
blunt  that  he  has  to  have  his  food  minced  before  he  can 
eat  it.  But  he  still  occupies  a  soft  rug  behind  the  stove 
in  the  student's  room,  and  Thor  hopes  he  will  live  long 
enough  to  be  introduced  to  his  master's  wife.  For  it 
would  be  a  pity  if  she  were  not  to  know  him  to  whom 
her  kusband  owes  his  position,  and  she,  accordingly,  hers. 


THE  FAMINE  AMONG  THE  GNOMES. 

I  BELIEVE  it  was  in  the  winter  of  18 —  (but  it  does  not 
matter  so  much  about  the  time)  that  the  servants  on  the 
large  estate  of  Halthorp  raised  a  great  ado  about  some- 
thing or  other.  Whereupon  the  Baron  of  Halthorp,  who 
was  too  stout  to  walk  down  the  stairs  on  slight  provoca- 
tion, called  his  steward,  in  a  voice  like  that  of  an  angry 
lion,  and  asked  him,  "  Why  in  the  name  of  Moses  he  did 
not  keep  the  rascals  quiet." 

"But,  your  lordship,"  stammered  the  steward,  who 
was  as  thin  as  the  baron  was  stout,  "  I  have  kept  them 
quiet  for  more  than  a  month  past,  though  it  has  been 
hard  enough.  Now  they  refuse  to  obey  me  unless  I 
admit  them  to  your  lordship's  presence,  that  they  may 
state  their  complaint." 

"  Impudent  beggars ! "  growled  the  old  gentleman. 
"  Tell  them  that  I  am  about  to  take  my  after-dinner  nap, 
and  that  I  do  not  wish  to  be  disturbed." 

"  I  have  told  them  that  a  dozen  times,"  whined  the 
steward,  piteously.  "  But  they  are  determined  to  leave 
in  a  body,  unless  your  lordship  consents  to  hear  them." 

"  Leave !  They  can't  leave,"  cried  his  honor.  "  The 
law  binds  them.  Well,  well,  to  save  talking,  fling  the 
doors  open  and  let  them  come  in." 


7«  THE   MODERN"   VIKINGS. 

The  steward  hobbled  away  to  the  great  oak-panelled 
doors  (I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  he  limped  in  his  left  foot), 
and,  cautiously  turning  the  knob  and  the  key,  peeped 
out  into  the  hall.  There  stood  the  servants — twenty- 
eight  in  all — but,  oh  !  what  a  sight !  They  were  hol- 
low-cheeked, with  hungry  eyes  and  bloodless  lips,  and 
deep  lines  about  their  mouths,  as  if  they  had  not  seen 
food  for  weeks.  Their  bony  hands  twitched  nervously 
at  the  coarse  clothes  that  flapped  in  loose  folds  about 
their  lean  and  awkward  limbs.  They  were  indeed  a  piti- 
ful spectacle.  Only  a  single  one  of  them — and  that  was 
of  course  the  cook — looked  like  an  ordinary  mortal,  or  an 
extraordinary  mortal,  if  you  like,  for  he  was  nearly  as 
broad  as  he  was  long.  It  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  he 
walked  at  the  head  of  the  procession,  as  they  filed  into 
the  parlor,  that  the  baron  did  pot  immediately  discover 
the  miserable  condition  of  the  rest.  But  when  they  had 
faced  about,  and  stood  in  a  long  row  from  wall  to  wall — • 
well,  you  would  hardly  believe  it,  but  the  baron,  hard- 
hearted as  he  was,  came  near  fainting.  There  is  a  limit 
to  all  things,  and  even  a  heart  of  steel  would  have  been 
moved  at  the  sight  of  such  melancholy  objects. 

"  Steward,"  he  roared,  when  he  had  sufficiently  recov- 
ered himself,  "  who  is  the  demon  who  has  dared  to  trifle 
with  my  fair  name  and  honor  ?  Name  him,  sir — name 
him,  and  I  will  strangle  him  on  the  spot !  " 

The  steward,  even  if  he  had  been  acquainted  with  the 
demon,  would  have  thought  twice  before  naming  him 
under  such  circumstances.  Accordingly  he  was  silent. 

"  Have  I  not,"  continued  the  baron,  still  in  a  voice  that 


Th£  FAMINE  AMONG    THE    GNOMES.  73 

made  his  subjects  quake — "  have  i  not  caused  ample  pro- 
visions to  be  daily  distributed  among  you  ?  Have  not 
you,  Mr.  Steward,  the  keys  to  my  store-houses,  and  have 
you  not  my  authority  to  see  that  each  member  of  my 
household  is  properly  provided  for  ?  " 

The  steward  dared  not  answer;  he  only  nodded  his 
head  in  silence. 

"  If  it  please  your  lordship,"  finally  began  a  squeaky 
little  voice  at  the  end  of  the  row  (it  was  that  of  the  under- 
groom),  "  it  isn't  the  steward  as  is  to  blame,  but  it's  the 
victuals.  Somehow  there  isn't  any  taste  nor  fillin'  to 
them.  Whether  I  eat  pork  and  cabbage  or  porridge  with 
molasses,  it  don't  make  no  difference.  It  all  tastes  alike. 
As  I  say,  your  lordship,  the  old  Nick  has  got  into  the 
victuals." 

The  under-groom  had  hardly  ceased  speaking  before 
the  baron,  who  was  a  very  irascible  old  gentleman,  seized 
his  large  gold-headed  cane  and  as  quickly  as  his  bulk 
would  allow,  rushed  forward  to  give  vent  to  his  anger. 

"  I'll  teach  you  manners,  you  impudent  clown ! "  he 
bawled  out,  as,  with  his  cane  lifted  above  his  head,  he 
rushed  into  the  ranks  of  the  frightened  servants,  shout- 
ing to  the  under-groom,  "  Criticise  my  victuals,  will  you, 
you  miserable  knave  ! " 

The  under-groom  having  on  former  occasions  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  baron's  cane,  and  still  remembering 
the  unpleasant  sensation,  immediately  made  for  the  door, 
and  slipped  nimbly  out  before  a  blow  had  reached  him. 
All  the  others,  who  had  to  suffer  for  their  spokesman's 
boldness,  tumbled  pell-mell  through  the  same  opening 


74  THE  MODERN"  VIKINGS. 

jumped,  rolled,  or  vaulted  down  the  steps,  and  landed  in 
a  confused  heap  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs. 

The  baron,  in  the  meanwhile,  marched  with  long  strides 
up  and  down  the  floor,  and  expressed  himself,  not  in  the 
politest  language,  concerning  the  impudence  of  his  do- 
mestics. 

"  However,"  he  grumbled  to  himself, "  I  must  look  into 
this  affair  and  find  out  what  fraud  there  is  at  the  bottom 
of  it.  The  poor  creatures  couldn't  get  as  lean  as  that 
unless  there  was  some  real  trouble." 

About  three  hours  later  the  baron  heard  the  large  bell 
over  the  gable  of  his  store-house  ring  out  for  dinner.  The 
wood-cutters  and  the  men  who  drove  the  snow-plough, 
and  all  other  laborers  on  the  large  estate,  as  soon  as  they 
heard  it,  flung  away  their  axes  and  snow-shovels  and 
hurried  up  to  the  mansion,  their  beards  and  hair  and  eye- 
brows all  white  with  hoar-frost,  so  that  they  looked  like 
walking  snow-men.  But  as  it  happened,  the  under-groom, 
Nils  Tagfat,  chanced  at  that  moment  to  be  cutting  down 
a  large  snow-laden  fir-tree  which  grew  on  a  projecting 
knoll  of  the  mountain.  He  pulled  off  his  mittens  and 
blew  on  his  hands  (for  it  was  bitter  cold),  and  was  about 
to  shoulder  his  axe,  when  suddenly  he  heard  a  chorus  of 
queer  little  metallic  voices,  as  it  seemed,  right  under  his 
feet.  He  stopped  and  listened. 

"  There  is  the  bell  of  Halthorp  ringing  !  Where  is  my 
cap  ?  where  is  my  cap  ? "  he  heard  distinctly  uttered, 
though  he  could  not  exactly  place  the  sound,  nor  did  he 
see  anybody  within  a  mile  around.  And  just  for  the 
joke  of  the  thing,  Nils,  who  was  always  a  jolly  fellow, 


THE  FAMINE  AMONG    THE    GNOM&S.  75 

made  his  voice  as  fine  as  he  could,  and,  mimicking  the 
tiny  voices,  squeaked  out : 

"  Where  is  my  cap  ?  Where  is  my  cap  ?  " 
But  imagine  his  astonishment  when  suddenly  he  heard 
a  voice  answer  him  :  "  You  can  take  grandfather's  cap  ! " 
and  at  the  same  moment  there  was  tossed  into  his 
hands  something  soft,  resembling  a  small  red-peaked 
cap.  Just  out  of  curiosity,  Nils  put  it  on  his  head  to 
try  how  it  would  fit  him,  and  small  as  it  looked,  it  fitted 
him  perfectly.  But  now,  as  the  cap  touched  his  head, 
his  eyes  were  opened  to  the  strangest  spectacle  he  ever 
beheld.  Out  of  the  mountain  came  a  crowd  of  gnomes, 
all  with  little  red-peaked  caps,  which  made  them  invisi- 
ble to  all  who  were  not  provided  with  similar  caps. 
They  hurried  down  the  hill-side  toward  Halthorp,  and 
Nils,  who  was  anxious  to  see  what  they  were  about,  fol- 
lowed at  a  proper  distance  behind.  As  he  had  half  ex- 
pected, they  scrambled  up  on  the  railings  at  the  door  of 
the  servants'  dining-hall,  and  as  soon  as  the  door  was 
opened  they  rushed  in,  climbed  up  on  the  chairs,  and 
seated  themselves  on  the  backs  just  as  the  servants  took 
their  places  on  the  seats.  And  now  Nils,  who,  you 
must  remember,  had  on  the  cap  that  made  him  invisible, 
came  near  splitting  his  sides  with  laughter.  The  first 
course  was  boiled  beef  and  cabbage.  The  smell  was  de- 
licious to  Nils's  hungry  nostrils,  but  he  had  to  conquer 
his  appetite  in  order  to  see  the  end  of  the  game.  The 
steward  stood  at  the  end  of  the  table  and  served  each 
with  a  liberal  portion ;  and  at  the  steward's  side  sat  the 
baron  himself,  in  a  large,  cushioned  easy-chair.  He 


76  THE   MODERN  VIKINGS. 

did  not  eat,  however;  he  was  there  merely  to  see  fail 
play. 

Each  servant  fell  to  work  greedily  with  his  knife  and 
fork,  and  just  as  he  had  got  a  delicious  morsel  half-way 
to  his  mouth,  the  gnome  on  the  back  of  his  chair  stretched 
himself  forward  and  deftly  snatched  the  meat  from  the 
end  of  the  fork.  Thus,  all  the  way  around  the  table, 
each  man  unconsciously  put  his  piece  of  beef  into  the 
wide-open  mouth  of  his  particular  gnome.  And  the  un- 
bidden guests  grinned  shrewdly  at  one  another,  and 
seemed  to  think  it  all  capital  fun.  Sometimes,  when 
the  wooden  trays  (which  were  used  instead  of  plates) 
were  sent  to  be  replenished,  they  made  horrrible  grimaces, 
often  mimicking  their  poor  victims,  who  chewed  and 
swallowed  and  went  through  all  the  motions  of  eating, 
without  obtaining  the  slightest  nourishment.  They  all 
would  have  liked  to  fling  knives  and  forks  and  trays  out 
through  the  windows,  but  they  had  the  morning's  chas- 
tisement freshly  in  mind,  and  they  did  not  dare  open 
their  mouths,  except  for  the  futile  purpose  of  eating. 

"Well,  my  lads  and  lasses,"  said  the  baron,  when  he 
had  watched  the  meal  for  some  minutes ;  "  if  you  can 
complain  of  food  like  this,  you  indeed  deserve  to  be 
flogged  and  put  on  prison  fare." 

"Very  likely,  your  lordship,"  said  one  of  the  milk- 
maids ;  "  but  if  your  lordship  would  demean  yourself 
to  take  a  morsel  with  us,  we  would  bless  your  lordship 
for  your  kindness  and  complain  no  more." 

The  baron,  looking  around  at  all  the  hopeless  eyes 
and  haggard  faces,  felt  that  there  was  something  besides 


THE  FAMINE  AMONG    THE    GNOMES.  77 

vanity  that  prompted  the  request;  and  he  accordingly 
ordered  the  cook  to  bring  his  own  plate  and  drew  his 
chair  up  to  the  table.  Hardly  had  he  seized  his  knife 
when  Nils  saw  a  gnome,  who  had  hitherto  been  seated 
on  the  floor  awaiting  his  turn,  crawl  up  on  the  arm  of 
his  big  chair  and,  standing  on  tiptoe,  seize  between  his 
teeth  the  first  bit  the  baron  was  putting  to  his  mouth. 
The  old  gentleman  looked  astounded,  mystified,  bewil- 
dered ;  but,  fearing  to  make  an  exhibition  of  himself, 
selected  another  mouthful,  and  again  conducted  it  the 
accustomed  way.  The  gnome  came  near  laughing  right 
out,  as  he  despatched  this  second  morsel  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  first,  and  all  around  the  table  the  little 
monsters  held  their  hands  over  their  mouths  and  seemed 
on  the  point  of  exploding.  The  baron  put  down  knife 
and  fork  with  a  bang ;  his  eyes  seemed  to  be  starting  out 
of  his  head,  and  his  whole  face  assumed  an  expression  of 
unspeakable  horror. 

"  It  is  Satan  himself  who  is  mocking  us !  "  he  cried. 
"  Send  for  the  priest !  Send  for  the  priest !  " 

Just  then  Nils  crept  around  behind  the  baron,  who 
soon  felt  something  soft,  like  a  fine  skull-cap,  pressed  on 
his  head,  and  before  he  had  time  to  resent  the  liberty,  he 
started  in  terror  at  the  sight  of  the  little  creature  that  he 
saw  sitting  on  the  arm  of  his  chair.  He  sprang  up  with 
an  exclamation  of  fright,  and  pushed  the  chair  back 
so  violently  that  it  was  almost  upset  upon  the  floor. 
The  gnome  dexterously  leaped  down  and  stood  staring 
back  at  the  baron  for  an  instant ;  then,  with  a  spring,  he 
snatched  a  potato  and  half  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  disap- 


78  THE     MODERN  VIKINGS. 

peared.  In  his  haste,  the  baron  ran  against  Nils,  the 
under-groom,  who  (now  without  a  cap)  was  standing  with 
a  smiling  countenance  calmly  surveying  all  the  confusion 
about  him. 

"  Now,  was  I  right,  your  lordship  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a 
respectful  bow.  "  Did  you  find  the  victuals  very  filling  ?  " 

The  baron,  who  was  yet  too  frightened  to  answer,  stood 
gazing  toward  a  window-pane,  which  suddenly  and  noise- 
lessly broke,  and  through  which  the  whole  procession  of 
gnomes,  huddled  together  in  flight,  tumbled  headlong 
into  the  snow-bank  without. 

"  And  what  shall  we  do,  Nils,"  said  the  baron,  the 
next  day,  when  he  had  recovered  from  his  shock,  "  to 
prevent  the  return  of  the  unbidden  guests  ?  " 

"  Stop  ringing  the  great  bell,"  answered  Nils.  "  It  is 
that  which  invites  the  gnomes." 

And  since  that  day  the  dinner-bell  has  never  been  rung 
at  Halthorp. 

But  one  day,  late  in  the  winter,  Nils  the  groom,  as  he 
was  splitting  wood  on  the  mountain-side,  heard  a  plain* 
tively  tinkling  voice  within,  singing : 

"  Hunger  and  sorrow  each  new  day  is  bringing 
Since  Halthorp  bell  has  ceased  its  ringing." 


HOW  BERNT  WENT  WHALING. 

BERNT  HOLTER  and  his  sister  Hilda  were  sitting  on 
the  beach,  playing  with  large  spiral  cockles  which  they 
imagined  were  cows  and  horses.  They  built  stables  out 
of  chips,  and  fenced  in  their  pastures,  and  led  their  cattle 
in  long  rows  through  the  deep  grooves  they  had  made  in 
the  sand. 

"  When  I  grow  up  to  be  a  man,"  said  Bernt,  who  was 
twelve  years  old,  "  I  am  going  to  sea  and  catch  whales,  as 
father  did  when  he  was  young.  I  don't  want  to  stand 
behind  a  counter  and  sell  calico  and  tape  and  coffee  and 
sugar,"  he  continued,  thrusting  his  chest  forward,  putting 
his  hands  into  his  pockets,  and  marching  with  a  manly 
swagger  across  the  beach.  "  I  don't  want  to  play  with 
cockles,  like  a  baby,  any  more,"  he  added,  giving  a  forci- 
ble kick  to  one  of  Hilda's  finest  shells  and  sending  it  fly- 
ing across  the  sand. 

"  I  wish  you  wouldn't  be  so  naughty,  Bernt,"  cried  his 
sister,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  "  If  you  don't  want  to 
play  with  me,  I  can  play  alone.  Bernt,  oh — look  there ! " 

Just  at  that  moment  a  dozen  or  more  columns  of  water 
flew  high  into  the  air,  and  the  same  number  of  large, 
black  tail-fins  emerged  from  the  surface  of  the  fiord,  and 
again  slowly  vanished. 


So  THE  MODEXX   t'SA'/.YGS. 

"  Hurrah  1 "  cried  Bernt,  in  great  glee,  "  it  is  a  school 
of  dolphins.  Good-by,  Hilda  dear,  1  think  I'll  run  down 
to  the  boat-house." 

"  I  think  I'll  go  with  you,  Bcrnt,"  said  his  sister,  oblig- 
ingly, rising  and  shaking  the  sand  from  her  skirts. 

"  I  think  you'll  not,"  remarked  her  brother,  angrily ; 
"  I  can  run  faster  than  you." 

So  saying,  he  rushed  away  over  the  crisp  sand  as  fast 
as  his  feet  would  carry  him,  while  his  sister  Hilda,  who 
was  rather  a  soft-hearted  girl,  and  ready  with  her  tears, 
ran  after  him,  all  out  of  breath  and  calling  to  him  at  the 
top  of  her  voice.  Finally,  when  she  was  more  than  half 
way  to  the  boat-house,  she  stumbled  against  a  stone  and 
fell  full  length  upon  the  beach.  Bernt,  fearing  that  she 
might  be  hurt,  paused  in  his  flight  and  returned  to  pick 
her  up,  but  could  not  refrain  from  giving  her  a  vindictive 
little  shake,  as  soon  as  he  discovered  that  she  had  sus- 
tained no  injury. 

"  I  do  think  girls  are  the  greatest  bother  that  ever  was 
invented,"  he  said,  in  high  dudgeon.  "  I  don't  see  what 
they  are  good  for,  anyway." 

"  I  want  to  go  with  you,  Bernt,"  cried  Hilda. 

Seeing  there  was  no  escape,  he  thought  he  might  just 
as  well  be  kind  to  her. 

"You  may  go,"  he  said,  "  if  you  will  promise  never  to 
tell  anybody  what  I  am  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  No,  Bernt,  I  shall  never  tell,"  said  the  child,  eagerlyc 
and  drying  her  tears. 

"I  am  going  a-whaling,"  whispered  Bernt,  mysteri- 
ously. "  Come  along  I  " 


HOW  BERNT    WENT    WHALING.  8l 

"Whaling!"  echoed  the  girl,  in  delicious  excite* 
ment.  "  Dear  Bernt,  how  good  you  are  1  Oh,  how 
lovely  !  No,  I  shall  never  tell  it  to  anybody  as  long  as 
I  live." 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  sun,  which  at 
that  time  of  the  year  never  sets  in  the  northern  part  of 
Norway,  threw  its  red,  misty  rays  like  a  veil  of  dull  flame 
over  the  lofty  mountains  which,  with  their  snow-hooded 
peaks,  pierced  the  fiery  clouds ;  their  huge  reflections 
shone  in  soft  tints  of  red,  green,  and  blue  in  the  depth 
of  the  fiord,  whose  glittering  surface  was  calm  and  smooth 
as  a  mirror.  Only  in  the  bay  which  the  school  of  dol- 
phins had  entered  was  the  water  ruffled ;  but  there,  high 
spouts  rose  every  moment  into  the  air  and  descended 
again  in  showers  of  fine  spray. 

"  It  is  well  that  father  has  gone  away  with  the  fisher- 
men," said  Bernt,  as  he  exerted  himself  with  all  his  might 
to  push  his  small  boat  down  over  the  slippery  beams  of 
the  boat-house.  "  Here,  Hilda,  hold  my  harpoon  for 
me." 

Hilda,  greatly  impressed  with  her  own  dignity  in  being 
allowed  to  hold  so  dangerous  a  weapon  as  a  harpoon, 
grasped  it  eagerly  and  held  it  up  in  both  her  arms. 
Bernt  once  more  put  his  shoulder  to  the  prow  of  his  light 
skiff  (which,  in  honor  of  his  father's  whaling  voyages,  he 
had  named  The  North  Pole)  and  with  a  tremendous 
effort  set  it  afloat.  Then  he  carefully  assisted  Hilda  into 
the  boat,  in  the  stern  of  which  she  seated  herself.  Next 
he  seized  the  oars  and  rowed  gently  out  beyond  the 
rocky  headland  toward  which  he  had  seen  the  dolphins 


82  77IE  MODERN  VI A  INGS. 

steer  their  course.     He  was  an  excellent  sailoi  for  his 
years,  and  could  manage  a  boat  noiselessly  and  well. 

"  Hilda,  take  the  helm,"  he  whispered,  "  or,  if  you  were 
only  good  for  anything,  you  might  paddle  and  we  should 
be  upon  them  in  a  minute.  Now,  remember,  and  push 
the  tiller  to  the  side  opposite  where  I  want  to  go." 

"  I'll  remember,"  she  replied,  breathlessly. 

The  gentle  plashing  of  the  oars  and  the  clicking  of  the 
rowlocks  were  the  only  sounds  which  broke  the  silence 
of  the  evening.  Now  and  then  a  solitary  gull  gave  a 
long,  shrill  scream  as  she  dived  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  fiord,  and  once  a  fish-hawk's  loud,  discordant  yell 
was  flung  by  the  echoes  from  mountain  to  mountain. 

"  Starboard,"  commanded  Bernt,  sternly ;  but  Hilda  in 
her  agitation  pushed  the  tiller  to  the  wrong  side  and  sent 
the  boat  flying  to  port. 

"  Starboard,  I  said  !  "  cried  the  boy,  indignantly  ;  "  if  I 
had  known  you  would  be  so  stupid,  I  should  never  have 
taken  you  along." 

"  Please,  brother  dear,  do  be  patient  with  me,"  pleaded 
the  girl,  remorsefully.  "  I  shall  not  do  it  again." 

It  then  pleased  his  majesty,  Bernt  Holter,  to  relent, 
although  his  sister  had  by  her  awkwardness  alarmed  the 
dolphins,  sending  the  boat  right  in  their  wake,  when  it 
had  been  his  purpose  to  head  them  off.  He  knew  well 
enough  that  it  takes  several  minutes  for  a  whole  school 
of  so  large  a  fish  as  the  dolphin  to  change  its  course,  and 
the  hunter  would  thus  have  a  good  chance  of  "  pricking" 
a  laggard  before  he  could  catch  up  with  his  companions. 
Bernt  strained  every  muscle,  while  coolly  keeping  his  eye 


HOW  BERNT   WENT   WHALING. 

on  the  water  to  note  the  course  of  his  game.  Hfe  only 
chance  was  in  cutting  across  the  bay  and  lying  in  wait 
for  them  at  the  next  headland.  For  he  knew  very  well 
that  if  they  were  seriously  frightened  and  suspected  that 
they  were  being  pursued,  they  could  easily  beat  him  by 
the  speed  and  dexterity  of  their  movements.  But  he 
saw  to  his  delight  that  his  calculations  were  correct.  In- 
stead of  taking  the  straight  course  seaward,  the  dolphins, 
being  probably  in  pursuit  of  fresh  herring,  young  cod,  and 
other  marine  delicacies  which  they  needed  for  their  late 
dinner,  steered  close  to  land  where  the  young  fish  are 
found  in  greater  abundance,  and  their  following  the  coast- 
line of  the  bay  gave  Bernt  a  chance  of  cutting  them 
off  and  making  their  acquaintance  at  closer  quarters. 
Having  crossed  the  little  bay,  he  commanded  his  sister 
to  lie  down  flat  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat — a  command 
which  she  willingly,  though  with  a  quaking  heart,  obeyed. 
He  backed  cautiously  into  a  little  nook  among  the  rocks 
from  which  he  had  a  clear  passage  out,  and  having  one 
hand  on  his  harpoon,  which  was  secured  by  a  rope  to  the 
prow  of  the  boat,  and  the  other  on  the  boat-hook  (with 
which  he  meant  to  push  himself  rapidly  out  into  the 
midst  of  the  school),  he  peered  joyously  over  the  gunwale 
and  heard  the  loud  snorts,  followed  by  the  hissing  descent 
of  the  spray,  approaching  nearer  and  nearer.  Now,  steady 
my  boy  !  Don't  lose  your  presence  of  mind  !  One,  two, 
three — there  goes !  Jumping  up,  fixing  the  boat-hook 
against  the  rock,  and  with  a  tremendous  push  shooting 
out  into  the  midst  of  the  school  was  but  a  moment's 
work.  Whew  !  The  water  spouts  and  whirls  about  his 


84  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

ears  as  in  a  shower-bath.  Off  goes  his  cap.  Let  it  go  \ 
But  stop!  What  was  that  ?  A  terrific  slap  against  the 
side  of  the  boat  as  from  the  tail  of  a  huge  fish.  Hilda 
jumps  up  with  a  piercing  shriek  and  the  boat  careens 
heavily  to  the  port  side,  the  gunwale  dipping  for  a 
moment  under  the  water.  A  loud  snort,  followed  again 
by  a  shower  of  spray,  is  heard  right  ahead,  and,  at  the 
same  moment,  the  harpoon  flies  through  the  air  with  a 
fierce  whiz  and  lodges  firmly  in  a  broad,  black  back. 
The  huge  fish  in  its  first  spasm  of  pain  gives  a  fling  with 
its  tail  and  for  an  instant  the  little  boat  is  lifted  out  of 
the  water  on  the  back  of  the  wounded  dolphin. 

"  Keep  steady,  don't  let  go  the  rope ! "  shouts  Bernt  at 
the  top  of  his  voice,  "  he  won't  hurt " 

But  before  he  had  finished,  the  light  skiff,  with  a  tre- 
mendous splash,  struck  the  water  again,  and  the  little 
coil  of  rope  to  which  the  harpoon  was  attached  flew  hum- 
ming over  the  gunwale  and  disappeared  with  astonish- 
ing speed  into  the  deep. 

Bernt  seized  the  cord,  and  when  there  was  little  left  to 
spare,  tied  it  firmly  to  the  prow  of  the  boat,  which  then, 
of  course,  leaped  forward  with  every  effort  of  the  dol- 
phin to  rid  itself  of  the  harpoon.  The  rest  of  the 
school,  having  taken  alarm,  had  sought  deep  water,  and 
were  seen,  after  a  few  minutes,  far  out  beyond  the  head- 
land. 

"  I  want  to  go  home,  Bernt,"  Hilda  exclaimed,  vehe- 
mently. "  I  want  to  go  home ;  I  don't  want  to  get 
killed,  Bernt." 

"  You  silly  thing !     You  can't  go  home  now.     You 


HOW  BERNT   WENT   WHALING.  85 

must  just  do  as  I  tell  you ;  but,  of  course — if  you 
only  are  sensible — you  won't  get  killed,  or  hurt  at 
all." 

While  he  was  yet  speaking,  the  boat  began  all  of  a  sud 
den  to  move  rapidly  over  the  water. 

The  dolphin  had  bethought  him  of  flight,  not  knowing 
that,  however  swiftly  he  swam,  he  pulled  his  enemy  after 
him.  As  he  rose  to  the  surface,  about  fifty  or  sixty  yards 
ahead,  a  small  column  of  water  shot  feebly  upward,  and 
spread  in  a  fan-like,  irregular  shape  before  it  fell.  The 
poor  beast  floundered  along  for  a  few  seconds,  its  long, 
black  body  in  full  view,  and  then  again  dived  down, 
dragging  the  boat  onward  with  a  series  of  quick  convul- 
sive pulls. 

Bernt  held  on  tightly  to  the  cord,  while  the  water 
foamed  and  bubbled  about  the  prow  and  surged  in  swirl- 
ing eddies  in  the  wake  of  the  skiff. 

"  If  I  can  only  manage  to  get  that  dolphin,"  said 
Bernt,  "  I  know  father  will  give  me  at  least  a  dollar  for 
him.  There's  lots  of  blubber  on  him,  and  that  is  used 
for  oil  to  burn  in  lamps." 

The  little  girl  did  not  answer,  but  grasped  the  gun- 
wale hard  on  each  side,  and  gazed  anxiously  at  the  foam- 
ing and  bubbling  water.  Bernt,  too,  sat  silent  in  the 
prow,  but  with  a  fisherman's  excitement  in  his  face.  The 
sun  hung,  huge  and  fiery,  over  the  western  mountains,  and 
sent  up  a  great,  dusky  glare  among  the  clouds,  which 
burned  in  intense  but  lurid  hues  of  red  and  gold.  Gradu- 
ally, and  before  they  were  fully  aware  of  it,  the  boat  be- 
gan to  rise  and  descend  again,  and  Bernt  discovered  by 


86  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

the  heavy,  even  roll  of  the  water  that  they  must  be  near 
the  ocean. 

"  Now  you  may  stop,  my  dear  dolphin,"  he  said,  coolly. 
"  We  don't  want  you  to  take  us  across  to  America. 
Who  would  have  thought  that  you  were  such  a  tough 
customer  anyway  ?  " 

He  let  go  the  rope,  and,  seating  himself  again,  put  the 
oars  into  the  rowlocks.  He  tried  to  arrest  the  speed  of 
the  boat  by  vigorous  backing  ;  but,  to  his  surprise,  found 
that  his  efforts  were  of  no  avail. 

"  Hilda,"  he  cried,  not  betraying,  however,  the  anxiety 
he  was  beginning  to  feel,  "  take  the  other  pair  of  oars  and 
let  us  see  what  you  are  good  for." 

Hilda,  not  realizing  the  danger,  obeyed,  a  little  trem- 
blingly, perhaps,  and  put  the  other  pair  of  oars  into  their 
places. 

"  Now  let  us  turn  the  boat  around,"  sternly  commanded 
the  boy.  "  It's  getting  late,  and  we  must  be  home  before 
bedtime.  One — two — three — pull !" 

The  oars  struck  the  water  simultaneously  and  the  boat 
veered  half  way  around ;  but  the  instant  the  oars  were 
lifted  again,  it  started  back  into  its  former  course. 

"  Why  don't  you  cut  the  rope  and  let  the  dolphin  go  ?  " 
asked  Hilda,  striving  hard  to  master  the  tears,  which 
again  were  pressing  to  her  eyelids. 

"  Not  I,"  answered  her  brother ;  "  why,  all  the  fellows 
would  laugh  at  me  if  they  heard  how  I  first  caught  the 
dolphin  and  then  the  dolphin  caught  me.  No,  indeed. 
He  hasn't  much  strength  left  by  this  time,  and  we  shall 
soon  see  him  float  up." 


HOW  BERNT   WENT   WHALING.  87 

He  had  hardly  uttered  these  words,  when  they  shot 
past  a  rocky  promontory,  and  the  vast  ocean  spread  out 
before  them.  Both  sister  and  brother  gave  an  involun- 
tary cry  of  terror.  There  they  were,  in  their  frail  little 
skiff,  far  away  from  home,  and  with  no  boat  visible  for 
miles  around.  "  Cut  the  rope,  cut  the  rope  !  Dear  Bernt, 
cut  the  rope !  "  screamed  Hilda,  wringing  her  hands  in 
despair. 

"  I  am  afraid  it  is  too  late,"  answered  her  brother, 
doggedly.  "  The  tide  is  going  out,  and  that  is  what  has 
carried  us  so  swiftly  to  sea.  I  was  a  fool  that  I  didn't 
think  of  it." 

"  But  what  shall  we  do — what  shall  we  do  !  "  moaned 
the  girl,  hiding  her  face  in  her  apron. 

"  Stop  that  crying,"  demanded  her  brother,  imperi- 
ously. "  I'll  tell  you  what  we  shall  have  to  do.  We 
couldn't  manage  to  pull  back  against  the  tide,  especially 
here  at  the  mouth  of  the  fiord,  where  the  current  is  so 
strong.  We  had  better  keep  on  seaward,  and  then,  if  we 
are  in  luck,  we  shall  meet  the  fishing-boats  when  they  re- 
turn, which  will  be  before  morning.  Anyway,  there  is 
little  or  no  wind,  and  the  night  is  light  enough,  so  that 
they  cannot  miss  seeing  us." 

"  Oh,  I  shall  surely  die,  I  shall  surely  die ! "  sobbed 
Hilda,  flinging  herself  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

Bernt  deigned  her  no  answer,  but  sat  gazing  sullenly 
out  over  the  ocean  toward  the  western  horizon,  over 
which  the  low  sun  shed  its  lurid  rnist  of  fire.  The 
ocean  broke  with  a  mighty  roar  against  the  rocks, 
hushed  itself  for  a  few  seconds,  and  then  hurled  itself 


88  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

against  the  rocks  anew.  To  be  frank,  he  was  not  quite  so 
fearless  as  he  looked  ;  but  he  thought  it  cowardly  to  give 
expression  to  his  fear,  and  especially  in  the  presence  of 
his  sister,  in  whose  estimation  he  had  always  been  a  hero. 
The  sun  sank  lower  until  it  almost  touched  the  water. 
The  rope  hung  perfectly  slack  from  the  prow,  and  only 
now  and  then  grew  tense  as  if  something  was  feebly  tug- 
ging at  the  other  end.  He  concluded  that  the  dol- 
phin had  bled  to  death  or  was  exhausted.  In  the  mean- 
while, they  were  drifting  rapidly  westward,  and  the  hol- 
low noise  of  the  breakers  was  growing  more  and  more 
distant.  From  a  merely  idle  impulse  of  curiosity  Bernt 
began  to  haul  in  his  rope,  and  presently  saw  a  black  body, 
some  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  floating  up  only  a  few  rods 
from  the  boat.  He  gave  four  or  five  pulls  at  the  rope 
and  was  soon  alongside  of  it.  Bernt  felt  very  sad  as  he 
looked  at  it,  and  was  sorry  he  had  killed  the  harmless 
animal.  The  thought  came  into  his  mind  that  his  pres- 
ent desperate  situation  was  God's  punishment  on  him  for 
his  cruel  delight  in  killing. 

"  But  God  would  not  punish  my  sister  for  my  wicked- 
ness," he  reflected,  gazing  tenderly  at  Hilda,  who  lay  in 
the  boat  with  her  hands  folded  under  her  cheek,  having 
sobbed  herself  to  sleep.  He  felt  consoled,  and,  murmur- 
ing a  prayer  he  had  once  heard  in  church  for  "  sailors  in 
distress  at  sea,"  lay  down  at  his  sister's  side  and  stared  up 
into  the  vast,  red  dome  of  the  sky  above  him.  The  water 
plashed  gently  against  the  sides  of  the  skiff  as  it  rose  and 
rocked  upon  the  great  smooth  "  ground  swell,"  and  again 
sank  down,  as  it  seemed  into  infinite  depths,  only  to 


HOW  BRRNT   WENT   WHALING.  89 

climb  again  the  next  billow.  Bernt  felt  sleepy  and  hun- 
gry, and  the  more  he  stared  into  the  sky  the  more  indis- 
tinct became  his  vision.  He  sprang  up,  determined  to 
make  one  last,  desperate  effort,  and  strove  to  row  in  tow- 
ard land,  but  he  could  make  no  headway  against  the 
strong  tide,  and  with  aching  limbs  and  a  heavy  heart  he 
again  stretched  himself  out  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 
Before  he  knew  it  he  was  fast  asleep. 

He  did  not  know  how  long  he  had  slept,  but  the  dim, 
fiery  look  of  the  sun  had  changed  into  an  airy  rose  colorr 
when  he  felt  someone  seizing  him  by  the  arm  and  crying 
out :  "  In  the  name  of  wonders,  boy,  how  did  you  come 
here?" 

He  rubbed  his  eyes  and  saw  his  father's  shaggy  face 
close  to  his. 

"  And  my  dear  little  girl  too,"  cried  the  father,  in  a 
voice  of  terror.  "  Heaven  be  praised  for  having  preserved 
her!" 

And  he  lifted  Hilda  in  his  arms  and  pressed  her  close 
to  his  breast.  Bernt  thought  he  saw  tears  glistening  in 
his  eyes.  That  made  him  suddenly  very  solemn.  For 
he  had  never  seen  his  father  cry  before.  Around  about 
him  was  a  fleet  of  some  thirty  or  forty  boats  laden  to  the 
gunwale  with  herring.  He  now  understood  his  rescue. 

"Now  tell  me,  Bernt,  truthfully,"  said  his  father, 
gravely,  still  holding  the  sobbing  Hilda  tightly  in  his  em- 
brace, "  how  did  this  happen  ?  " 

"  I  went  a-whaling,"  stammered  Bernt,  feeling  not  at 
all  so  brave  as  he  had  felt  when  he  started  on  his  voyage. 
But  he  still  had  courage  enough  to  point  feebly  to  the 


go  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

dead  dolphin  which  lay  secured  a  short  distance  from  the 
skiff. 

"Wait  till  we  get  home,"  said  his  father,  "then  /'// 
go  a-whaling." 

He  stood,  for  a  while,  gazing  in  amazement  at  the 
huge  fish,  then  again  at  his  son,  as  if  comparing  their 
bulk.  He  felt  that  he  ought  to  scold  the  youthful 
sportsman,  but  he  knew  it  was  in  the  blood,  and  was 
therefore  more  inclined  to  praise  his  daring  spirit.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  he  got  home,  he  did  not  go  a-whaling. 

"  Bernt,"  he  said,  patting  the  boy's  curly  head,  "  you 
may  be  a  brave  lad  ;  but  next  time  your  bravery  gets  the 
better  of  you — leave  the  little  lass  at  home." 


THE  COOPER  AND  THE  WOLVES. 

TOLLEF  KOLSTAD  was  a  cooper,  and  a  very  skilful 
cooper  he  was  said  to  be.  He  had  a  little  son  named 
Thor,  who  was  as  fond  of  his  father  as  his  father  was  of 
him.  Whatever  Tollef  did  or  said,  Thor  was  sure  to 
imitate ;  if  Tollef  was  angry  and  flung  a  piece  of  wood 
at  the  dog  who  used  to  come  into  the  shop  and  bother 
him,  Thor,  thinking  it  was  a  manly  thing  to  do,  flung 
another  piece  at  poor  Hector,  who  ran  out  whimpering 
through  the  door. 

Thor,  of  course,  was  not  very  old  before  he  had  a  corner 
in  his  father's  shop,  where,  with  a  small  set  of  tools  which 
had  been  especially  bought  for  him,  he  used  "to  make 
little  pails  and  buckets  and  barrels,  which  he  sold  for 
five  or  ten  cents  apiece  to  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood. 
All  the  money  earned  in  this  way  he  put  into  a  bank  of 
tin,  made  like  a  drum,  of  which  his  mother  kept  the  key. 
When  he  grew  up,  he  thought,  he  would  be  a  rich  man. 

The  last  weeks  before  Christmas  are,  in  Norway,  al- 
ways the  briskest  season  in  all  trades ;  then  the  farmer 
wants  his  horses  shod,  so  that  he  may  take  his  wife  and 
children  to  church  in  his  fine,  swan-shaped  sleigh  ;  he 
wants  bread  and  cakes  made  to  last  through  the  holidays, 


92  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

so  that  his  servants  may  be  able  to  amuse  themselves, 
and  his  guests  may  be  well  entertained  when  they  call  ; 
and,  above  all,  he  wants  large  tubs  and  barrels,  stoutly 
made  of  beech  staves,  for  his  beer  and  mead,  with  which 
he  pledges  every  stranger  who,  during  the  festival,  hap- 
pens to  pass  his  door.  You  may  imagine,  then,  that  at 
Christmas  time  coopers  are  much  in  demand,  and  that  it 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  sometimes  they  are  behind- 
hand with  their  orders.  This  was  unfortunately  the  case 
with  Tollef  Kolstad  at  the  time  when  the  strange  thing 
happened  which  I  am  about  to  tell  you.  He  had  been 
at  work  since  the  early  dawn,  upon  a  huge  tub  or  barrel, 
which  had  been  ordered  by  Grim  Berglund,  the  richest 
peasant  in  the  parish.  Grim  was  to  give  a  large  party 
on  the  following  day  (which  was  Christmas-Eve),  and  he 
had  made  Tollef  promise  to  bring  the  barrel  that  same 
night,  so  that  he  might  pour  the  beer  into  it,  and  have 
all  in  readiness  for  the  holidays,  when  it  would  be  wrong 
to  do  any  work.  It  was  about  ten  o'clock  at  night  when 
Tollef  made  the  last  stroke  with  his  hatchet  on  the  large 
hollow  thing,  upon  which  every  blow  resounded  as  on  a 
drum.  He  went  to  a  neighbor  and  hired  from  him  his 
horse  and  flat  sleigh,  and  was  about  to  start  on  his  er- 
rand, when  he  heard  a  tiny  voice  calling  behind  him  : 

"  Father,  do  take  me  along,  too  !  " 

"  I  can't,  my  boy.  There  may  be  wolves  on  the  lake, 
to-night,  and  they  might  like  to  eat  up  little  boys  who 
stay  out  of  bed  so  late." 

"  But  I  am  not  afraid  of  them,  father.  I  have  my 
whip  and  my  hatchet,  and  Pll  whip  them  and  cut  them." 


THE    COOPER  AND   THE    WOLVES.  93 

Thor  here  made  some  threatening  flourishes  with  his 
weapons  in  the  air,  indicating  how  he  would  give  it  to 
the  wolves  in  case  they  should  venture  to  molest  him. 

"  Well,  come  along,  you  little  rascal,"  said  his  father, 
laughing,  and  feeling  rather  proud  of  his  boy's  dauntless 
spirit.  "  You  and  I  are  not  to  be  trifled  with  when  we 
get  mad,  are  we,  Thor  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,  father,"  said  Thor,  and  clenched  his 
little  mittened  fist. 

Tollef  then  lifted  him  up,  wrapped  him  warmly  in 
his  sheepskin  jacket,  and  put  him  between  his  knees, 
while  he  himself  seized  the  reins  and  urged  the  horse  on. 

It  was  a  glorious  winter  night.  The  snow  sparkled 
and  shone  as  if  sprinkled  with  starry  diamonds,  the 
aurora  borealis  flashed  in  pale,  shifting  colors  along  the 
horizon,  and  the  moon  sailed  calmly  through  a  vast, 
dark-blue  sea  of  air.  Little  Thor  shouted  with  delight 
as  he  saw  the  broad  expanse  of  glittering  ice,  which  they 
were  about  to  cross,  stretching  out  before  them  like  a 
polished  shield  of  steel. 

"  Oh,  father,  I  wish  we  had  taken  our  skates  along, 
and  pulled  your  barrel  across  on  a  sled,"  cried  the  boy, 
ecstatically. 

"  That  I  might  have  done,  if  I  had  had  a  sled  large 
enough  for  the  barrel,"  replied  the  father.  "  But  then 
we  should  have  been  obliged  to  pull  it  up  the  hills  on 
the  other  side." 

The  sleigh  now  struck  the  ice  and  shot  forward,  swing- 
ing from  side  to  side,  as  the  horse  pulled  a  little  unevenly. 
Whew !  how  the  cold  air  cut  in  their  faces.  How  it 


94  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

whizzed  and  howled  in  the  tree-tops !  Hark !  What 
was  that  ?  Tollef  instinctively  pressed  his  boy  more 
closely  to  him.  Hush  ! — his  heart  stood  still,  while  that 
of  the  boy,  who  merely  felt  the  reflex  shock  of  his  father's 
agitation,  hammered  away  the  more  rapidly.  A  terrible, 
long-drawn  howl,  as  from  a  chorus  of  wild,  far-away 
voices,  came  floating  away  over  the  crowns  of  the  pine- 
trees. 

"  What  was  that,  father,"  asked  Thor,  a  little  tremu- 
lously. 

"  It  was  wolves,  my  child,"  said  Tollef,  calmly. 

"  Are  you  afraid,  father  ?  "  asked  the  boy  again. 

"  No,  child,  I  am  not  afraid  of  one  wolf,  nor  of  ten 
wolves ;  but  if  they  are  in  a  flock  of  twenty  or  thirty, 
they  are  dangerous.  And  if  they  scent  our  track,  as 
probably  they  will,  they  will  be  on  us  in  five  minutes." 

"  How  will  they  scent  our  track,  father  ?  " 

"  They  smell  us  in  the  wind ;  and  the  wind  is  from  us 
and  to  them,  and  then  they  howl  to  notify  their  comrades, 
so  that  they  may  attack  us  in  sufficient  force." 

"  Why  don't  we  return  home,  then  ? "  inquired  the 
boy,  still  with  a  tolerably  steady  voice,  but  with  sinking 
courage. 

"  They  are  behind  us.  Our  only  chance  is  to  reach 
the  shore  before  they  overtake  us." 

The  horse,  sniffing  the  presence  of  wild  beasts,  snorted 
wildly  as  it  ran,  but,  electrified  as  it  were,  with  the  sense 
of  danger,  strained  every  nerve  in  its  efforts  to  reach  the 
farther  shore.  The  howls  now  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
and  they  rose  with  a  frightful  distinctness  in  the  clear, 


THE    COOPER   AND    THE    WOLVES.  9$ 

wintry  air,  and  resounded  again  from  the  border  of  the 
forest. 

"  Why  don't  you  throw  away  the  barrel,  father  ?  "  said 
Thor,  who,  for  his  father's  sake,  strove  hard  to  keep 
brave.  "  Then  the  sleigh  will  run  so  much  the  faster." 

"  If  we  are  overtaken,  our  safety  is  in  the  barrel.  Fort- 
unately, it  is  large  enough  for  two,  and  it  has  no  ears  and 
will  fit  close  to  the  ice." 

Tollef  was  still  calm  ;  but,  with  his  one  disengaged 
arm,  hugged  his  little  son  convulsively. 

"  Now,  keep  brave,  my  boy,"  he  whispered  in  his  ear. 
"  They  will  soon  be  upon  us.  Give  me  your  whip." 

It  just  occurred  to  Tollef  that  he  had  heard  that  wolves 
were  very  suspicious,  and  that  men  had  often  escaped 
them  by  dragging  some  small  object  on  the  ground  be- 
hind them.  He,  therefore,  broke  a  chip  from  one  of  the 
hoops  of  the  barrel,  and  tied  it  to  the  lash  of  the  whip  ; 
just  then  he  heard  a  short,  hungry  bark  behind  him,  and, 
turning  his  head,  saw  a  pack  of  wolves,  numbering  more 
than  a  dozen,  the  foremost  of  which  was  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  sleigh.  He  saw  the  red,  frothy  tongue  hang- 
ing out  of  its  mouth,  and  he  smelt  that  penetrating,  wild 
smell  with  which  everyone  is  familiar  who  has  met  a  wild 
beast  in  its  native  haunts.  While  encouraging  the  reek- 
ing, foam-flecked  horse,  Tollef,  who  had  only  half  faith 
in  the  experiment  with  the  whip,  watched  anxiously  the 
leader  of  the  wolves,  and  observed  to  his  astonishment 
that  it  seemed  to  be  getting  no  nearer.  One  moment  it 
seemed  to  be  gaining  upon  them,  but  invariably,  as  soon 
as  it  reached  the  little  chip  which  was  dragging  along  the 


96  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

ice,  this  suddenly  arrested  its  attention  and  immediately 
its  speed  slackened.  The  cooper's  hope  began  to  revive, 
and  he  thought  that  perhaps  there  was  yet  a  possibility 
that  they  might  see  the  morrow's  sun.  But  his  courage 
again  began  to  ebb  when  he  discovered  in  the  distance  a 
second  pack  of  wolves,  larger  than  the  first,  and  which, 
with  terrific  speed,  came  running,  leaping,  and  whirling 
toward  them  from  another  direction.  And  while  this 
terrible  discovery  was  breaking  through  his  almost  cal- 
lous sense,  he  forgot,  for  an  instant,  the  whip,  the  lash 
of  which  swung  under  the  runners  of  the  sleigh  and 
snapped.  The  horse,  too,  was  showing  signs  of  exhaus- 
tion, and  Tollef,  seeing  that  only  one  chance  was  left, 
rose  up  with  his  boy  in  his  arms,  and  upsetting  the  barrel 
on  the  ice,  concealed  himself  and  the  child  under  it. 
Hardly  had  he  had  time  to  brace  himself  against  its 
sides,  pressing  his  feet  against  one  side  and  his  back 
against  the  other,  when  he  heard  the  horse  giving  a  wild 
scream,  while  the  short,  whining  bark  of  the  wolves  told 
him  that  the  poor  beast  was  selling  its  life  dearly.  Then 
there  was  a  desperate  scratching  and  scraping  of  horse- 
shoes, and  all  of  a  sudden  the  sound  of  galloping  hoof- 
beats  on  the  ice,  growing  fainter  and  fainter.  The  horse 
had  evidently  succeeded  in  breaking  away  from  the  sleigh, 
and  was  testing  his  speed  in  a  race  for  life.  Some  of  the 
wolves  were  apparently  pursuing  him,  while  the  greater 
number  remained  to  investigate  the  contents  of  the  bar- 
rel. The  howling  and  barking  of  these  furious  creatures 
without  was  now  incessant.  Within  the  barrel  it  was 
dark  as  pitch. 


THE   COOPER  AND   THE    WOLVES.  97 

"  Now,  keep  steady ! "  said  Tollef,  feeling  a  sudden 
shock,  as  if  a  wolf  had  leaped  against  their  improvised 
house  with  a  view  to  upsetting  it.  He  felt  himself  and 
the  boy  gliding  a  foot  or  two  over  the  smooth  ice,  but 
there  was  no  further  result  from  the  attack.  A  minute 
passed  :  again  there  came  a  shock,  and  a  stronger  one 
than  the  first.  A  long,  terrible  howl  followed  this  second 
failure.  The  little  boy,  clutching  his  small  cooper's 
hatchet  in  one  hand,  sat  pale  but  determined  in  the  dark, 
while  with  the  other  he  clung  to  his  father's  arm. 

"  Oh,  father ! "  he  cried,  in  terror,  "  I  feel  something 
on  my  back/' 

The  father  quickly  struck  a  light,  for  he  fortunately 
had  a  supply  of  matches  in  his  pocket,  and  saw  a  wolfs 
paw  wedged  in  between  the  ice  and  the  rim  of  the  barrel ; 
and  in  the  same  instant  he  tore  the  hatchet  from  his  son's 
hand  and  buried  its  edge  in  the  ice.  Then  he  handed 
the  amputated  paw  to  Thor,  and  said  : 

"  Put  that  into  your  wallet,  and  the  sheriff  will  pay 
you  a  reward  for  it.*  For  a  wolf  without  paws  couldn't 
do  much  harm." 

While  he  was  yet  speaking,  a  third  assault  upon  the 
barrel  lifted  one  side  of  it  from  the  ice,  and  almost  over- 
turned it.  Instead  of  pushing  against  the  part  nearest 
the  ice,  a  wolf,  more  cunning  than  the  rest,  had  leaped 
against  the  upturned  bottom. 

You  can  imagine  what  a  terrible  night  father  and  son 


*  The  sheriffs  in  Norway  are  by  law  required  to  pay,  in  behalf  of  the 
State,  certain  premiums  for  the  killing  of  bears,  wolves,  foxes,  and  eagles* 
7 


9S  XXE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

spent  together  in  this  constant  struggle  with  the  vora« 
cious  beasts,  that  never  grew  weary  of  attacking  their 
hiding-place.  The  father  was  less  warmly  clad  than  the 
son,  and,  moreover,  was  obliged  to  sit  on  the  ice,  while 
Thor  could  stand  erect  without  knocking  against  the 
bottom  of  the  barrel ;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  ex- 
citement of  the  situation,  which  made  Tollefs  blood 
course  with  unwonted  rapidity,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  intense  cold  would  have  made  him  drowsy,  and 
thus  lessened  his  power  of  resistance.  The  warmth  of 
his  body  had  made  a  slight  cavity  where  he  was  sitting, 
and  whenever  he  remained  a  moment  still,  his  trousers 
froze  fast  to  the  ice.  It  was  only  the  presence  of  his 
boy  that  inspired  him  with  fresh  courage,  whenever  hope 
seemed  about  to  desert  him. 

About  an  hour  after  the  flight  of  the  horse,  when  five 
or  six  wolves'  paws  had  been  cut  off  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  first,  there  was  a  lull  in  the  attack,  but  a 
sudden  increase  of  the  howling,  whining,  yelping,  and 
barking  noise  without.  Tollef  concluded  that  the 
wolves,  maddened  by  the  smell  of  blood,  were  at- 
tacking their  wounded  fellows ;  and  as  their  howls 
seemed  to  come  from  a  short  distance,  he  cautiously 
lifted  one  side  of  the  barrel  and  peered  forth ;  but  in 
the  same  instant  a  snarling  bark  rang  right  in  his  ear, 
and  two  paws  were  thrust  into  the  opening.  Then 
came  a  howl  of  pain,  and  another  paw  was  put  into 
Thor's  wallet. 

But  hark  !  What  is  that  ?  It  sounds  like  a  song,  of 
rather  like  a  hymn.  The  strain  comes  nearer  and  nearer, 


THE    COOPER  AND   THE    WOLVES.  99 

resounding  from  mountain  to  mountain,  floating  peace- 
fully through  the  pure  and  still  air : 

"  Who  knows  how  near  I  am  mine  ending ; 
So  quickly  time  doth  pass  away." 

Tollef,  in  whose  breast  hope  again  was  reviving,  put 
his  ear  to  the  ice,  and  heard  distinctly  the  tread  of 
horses  and  of  many  human  feet.  He  listened  for  a  min- 
ute or  more,  but  could  not  discover  whether  the  sound 
was  coming  any  nearer.  It  occurred  to  him  that  in  all 
probability  the  people,  being  unarmed,  would  have  no 
desire  to  cope  with  a  large  pack  of  wolves,  especially  as 
to  them  there  could  be  no  object  in  it.  If  they  saw  the 
barrel,  how  could  they  know  that  there  was  anybody 
under  it  ?  He  comprehended  instantly  that  his  only 
chance  of  life  was  in  joining  those  people  before  they 
were  too  far  away.  And,  quickly  resolved,  he  lifted  the 
boy  on  his  left  arm,  and  grasped  the  hatchet  in  his  dis- 
engaged hand.  Then,  with  a  violent  thrust,  he  flung  the 
barrel  from  over  him,  and  ran  in  the  direction  of  the 
sound.  The  wolves,  as  he  had  inferred,  were  lacerating 
their  bleeding  comrades  ;  but  the  moment  they  saw  him, 
a  pack  of  about  a  dozen  immediately  started  in  pursuit. 
They  leaped  up  against  him  on  all  sides,  while  he  struck 
furiously  about  him  with  his  small  weapon.  Fortunately, 
he  had  sharp  steel  pegs  on  his  boots,  and  kept  his  foot- 
ing well ;  otherwise  the  combat  would  have  been  a  short 
one.  His  voice,  too,  was  powerful,  and  his  shouts  rose 
high  above  the  howling  of  the  beasts.  He  soon  per- 
ceived that  he  had  been  observed,  and  he  saw  in  the 


loo  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

bright  moonlight  six  or  eight  men  running  toward  him. 
Just  then,  as  perhaps  in  his  joy  his  vigilance  was  for  a 
fraction  of  a  second  relaxed,  he  felt  a  pull  in  the  fleshy 
part  of  his  right  arm.  He  was  not  conscious  of  any 
sharp  pain,  and  was  astonished  to  see  the  blood  flowing 
from  an  ugly  wound.  But  he  only  held  his  boy  the 
more  tightly,  while  he  fought  and  ran  with  the  strength 
of  despair. 

Now  the  men  were  near.  He  could  hear  their  voices. 
But  his  brain  was  dizzy,  and  he  saw  but  dimly. 

"  Hello,  friend ;  don't  crack  my  skull  for  my  pains  ! '' 
someone  was  shouting  close  to  his  ear,  and  he  let  his 
hatchet  fall,  and  he  fell  himself,  too,  prostrate  on  the 
ice. 

The  wolves,  at  the  sight  of  the  men,  had  retired  to  a 
safe  distance,  from  which  they  watched  the  proceedings, 
as  if  uncertain  whether  to  return. 

As  soon  as  Tollef  had  recovered  somewhat  from  his 
exhaustion  and  his  loss  of  blood,  he  and  his  boy  were 
placed  upon  a  sleigh,  and  his  wound  was  carefully  band- 
aged. He  now  learned  that  his  rescuers  were  on  their 
way  to  a  funeral,  which  was  to  take  place  on  the  next 
day,  but,  on  account  of  the  distance  to  the  church,  they 
had  been  obliged  to  start  during  the  night.  Hence  their 
solemn  mood,  and  their  singing  of  funeral  hymns. 

After  an  hour's  ride  they  reached  the  cooper's  cottage, 
and  were  invited  to  rest  and  to  share  such  hospitality  as 
the  house  could  afford.  But  when  they  were  gone, 
Tollef  clasped  his  sleeping  boy  in  his  arms  and  said  to 
his  wife :  "  If  it  had  not  been  for  him,  you  might  have 


THE   COOPER  AND    THE    WOLVES.  101 

had  no  husband  to-day.     It  was  his  little  whip  and  toy 
hatchet  that  saved  our  lives." 

Eleven  wolves'  paws  were  found  in  Thor's  wallet,  and, 
on  Christmas  eve,  he  went  to  the  sheriff  with  them  and 
received  a  reward  which  nearly  burst  his  old  savings- 
bank,  and  compelled  his  mother  to  buy  a  new  one. 


MAGNIE'S    DANGEROUS    RIDE. 
I. 

MAGNIE  was  consumed  with  the  hunting  fever.  He 
had  been  away  to  school  since  he  was  ten  years  old,  and 
had  never  had  the  chance  of  doing  anything  remarkable. 
While  his  brother,  Olaf,  who  was  a  midshipman  in  the 
navy,  roamed  about  the  world,  and  had  delightful  adven- 
tures with  Turks  and  Arabs,  and  all  sorts  of  outlandish 
people,  Magnie  had  to  scan  Virgil  and  Horace  and  tor- 
ment his  soul  with  algebraic  problems.  It  was  not  at  all 
the  kind  of  life  he  had  sketched  out  for  himself,  and  if  it 
had  not  been  his  father  who  had  imposed  it  upon  him, 
he  would  have  broken  away  from  all  restraints  and  gone 
to  Turkey  or  China,  or  some  place  where  exciting  things 
happened.  In  the  meanwhile,  as  he  lacked  money  for 
such  an  enterprise,  he  would  content  himself  with  what- 
ever excitement  there  was  in  hunting,  and  as  his  broth- 
ers, Olaf  and  little  Edwin  (who  was  fourteen  years  old), 
were  also  at  home  for  the  vacation,  there  was  a  prospect 
of  many  delightful  expeditions  by  sea  and  by  land. 
Moreover,  their  old  friend  Grim  Hering-Luck,  who  was 
their  father's  right-hand  man,  had  promised  to  be  at  their 


MAGNIE^S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  103 

disposal  and  put  them  on  the  track  of  exciting  experi- 
ences. They  had  got  each  a  gun,  and  had  practised 
shooting  at  a  target  daily  since  their  return  from  the  city. 
Magnie,  or  Magnus  Birk,  as  his  real  name  was,  had  once 
(though  Olaf  stoutly  maintained  that  it  was  mere  chance) 
hit  the  bull's-eye  at  a  hundred  yards,  and  he  was  now 
eager  to  show  his  skill  on  something  more  valuable  than 
a  painted  target.  It  was,  therefore,  decided  that  Grim 
and  the  boys  should  go  reindeer-hunting.  They  were  to 
be  accompanied  by  the  professional  hunter,  Bjarne  Sheep- 
skin. 

It  was  a  glorious  morning.  The  rays  of  the  sun  shot 
from  the  glacier  peaks  in  long  radiant  shafts  down  into 
the  valley.  The  calm  mirror  of  the  fiord  glittered  in  the 
light  and  fairly  dazzled  the  eye,  and  the  sea-birds  drifted 
in  noisy  companies  about  the  jutting  crags,  plunged 
headlong  into  the  sea,  and  scattered  the  spray  high  into 
the  air.  The  blue  smoke  rose  perpendicularly  from  the 
chimneys  of  the  fishermen's  cottages  along  the  beach,  and 
the  housewives,  still  drowsy  with  sleep,  came  out,  rubbed 
their  eyes  and  looked  toward  the  sun  to  judge  of  the 
hour.  One  boat  after  another  was  pushed  out  upon  the 
water,  and  the  ripples  in  their  wakes  spread  in  long  di- 
verging lines  toward  either  shore.  The  fish  leaped  in 
the  sun,  heedless  of  the  gulls  which  sailed  in  wide  cir- 
cles under  the  sky,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  the  move- 
ments of  the  finny  tribe.  The  three  boys  could  only 
stand  and  gaze  in  dumb  astonishment  upon  the  splendid 
sights  which  the  combined  heavens,  earth,  and  sea  af- 
forded. Their  father,  who  was  much  pleased  with  their 


104  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

determination  and  enterprise,  had  readily  given  his  con, 
sent  to  the  reindeer  hunt,  on  condition  that  Grim  should 
take  command  and  be  responsible  for  their  safety.  They 
were  now  mounted  upon  three  sturdy  ponies,  while  their 
provisions,  guns,  and  other  commodities  were  packed 
upon  a  fourth  beast — a  shaggy  little  monster  named 
Bruno,  who  looked  more  like  a  hornless  goat  than  a 
horse.  Bjarne  Sheepskin,  a  long,  round-shouldered  fel- 
low, with  a  pair  of  small,  lively  eyes,  was  leading  this 
heavily  laden  Bruno  by  the  bridle,  and  the  little  caravan, 
being  once  set  in  motion,  climbed  the  steep  slopes  toward 
the  mountains  with  much  persistence  and  dexterity. 
The  ponies,  which  had  been  especially  trained  for  moun- 
tain climbing,  planted  their  hoofs  upon  the  slippery  rocks 
with  a  precision  which  was  wonderful  to  behold,  jumped 
from  stone  to  stone,  slipped,  scrambled  up  and  down,  but 
never  fell.  As  they  entered  the  pine  forest,  where  the 
huge  trunks  grew  in  long,  dark  colonnades,  letting  in 
here  and  there  stray  patches  of  sunshine,  partridges  and 
ptarmigan  often  started  under  the  very  noses  of  the 
horses,  and  Magnie  clamored  loudly  for  his  gun,  and 
grew  quite  angry  with  Bjarne,  who  would  allow  "  no  fool- 
ing with  tomtits  and  chipmunks,  when  they  were  in 
search  of  big  game."  Even  hares  were  permitted  to  go 
unmolested;  and  it  was  not  until  a  fine  capercailzie* 
cock  tumbled  out  of  the  underbrush  close  to  the  path,  that 
Bjarne  flung  his  gun  to  his  cheek  and  fired.  The  caper- 
cailzie made  a  somersault  in  the  air,  and  the  feathers  flew 

*  A  species  of  grouse. 


MAGNIF^S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  105 

about  it  as  it  fell.  Bjarne  picked  it  up  quietly,  tied  its  legs 
together,  and  hung  it  on  the  pommel  of  Edwin's  sad- 
dle. "  That  will  make  a  dinner  for  gentlefolks,"  he  said, 
"  if  the  dairy-maids  up  on  the  saeters  should  happen  to 
have  nothing  in  the  larder." 

Gradually,  as  they  mounted  higher,  the  trees  became 
more  stunted  in  their  growth,  and  the  whole  character  of 
the  vegetation  changed.  The  low  dwarf-birch  stretched 
its  long,  twisted  branches  along  the  earth,  the  silvery- 
white  reindeer-moss  clothed  in  patches  the  barren  ground, 
and  a  few  shivering  alpine  plants  lifted  their  pale,  pink 
flowers  out  of  the  general  desolation.  As  they  reached 
the  ridge  of  the  lower  mountain  range  the  boys  saw  be- 
fore them  a  scene  the  magnificence  of  which  nearly  took 
their  breath  away.  Before  them  lay  a  wide  mountain 
plain,  in  the  bottom  of  which  two  connected  lakes  lay 
coldly  glittering.  Round  about,  the  plain  was  settled 
with  rude  little  log-houses,  the  so-called  saetersy  or  moun- 
tain dairies,  where  the  Norse  peasants  spend  their  brief 
summers,  pasturing  their  cattle. 

They  started  at  a  lively  trot  down  the  slope  toward 
this  highland  plain,  intending  to  reach  the  Hasselrud 
saeter,  where  they  expected  to  spend  the  night;  for  it 
was  already  several  hours  past  noon,  and  there  could  be 
no  thought  of  hunting  reindeer  so  late  in  the  day.  Judg- 
ing by  appearances,  the  boys  concluded  that  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes  would  bring  them  to  the  saeter ;  but 
they  rode  on  for  nearly  two  hours,  and  always  the  cot- 
tages seemed  to  recede,  and  the  distance  showed  no  signs 
of  diminishing.  They  did  not  know  how  deceptive  all 


106  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

distances  are  in  this  wondrously  clear  mountain  air,  whose 
bright  transparency  is  undimmed  by  the  dust  and  exha^ 
lations  of  the  lower  regions  of  the  earth.  They  would 
scarcely  have  believed  that  those  huge  glacier  peaks, 
which  seemed  to  be  looming  up  above  their  very  heads, 
were  some  eight  to  twelve  miles  away,  and  that  the 
eagle  which  soared  above  them  was  far  beyond  the  range 
of  their  rifles. 

It  was  about  five  o'clock  when  they  rode  in  upon  the 
saeter  green,  where  the  dairy-maids  were  alternately 
blowing  their  horns  and  yodelling.  Their  long  flaxen 
braids  hung  down  their  backs,  and  their  tight-fitting 
scarlet  bodices  and  white  sleeves  gave  them  a  picturesque 
appearance.  The  cattle  were  lowing  against  the  sky, 
answering  the  call  of  the  horn.  The  bells  of  cows,  goats, 
and  sheep  were  jangled  in  harmonious  confusion ;  and 
the  noise  of  the  bellowing  bulls,  the  bleating  sheep,  and 
the  neighing  horses  was  heard  from  all  sides  over  the 
wide  plain. 

The  three  brothers  were  received  with  great  cordiality 
by  the  maids,  and  they  spent  the  evening,  after  the  sup- 
per was  finished,  in  listening  to  marvellous  stories  about 
*he  ogres  who  inhabited  the  mountains,  and  the  hunting 
adventures  with  which  Bjarne  Sheepskin's  life  had  been 
crowded,  and  which  he  related  with  a  sportsman's  usual 
exaggerations.  The  beds  in  one  of  the  saeter  cottages 
were  given  up  to  the  boys,  and  they  slept  peacefully  un- 
til about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  Grim  aroused 
them  and  told  them  that  everything  was  ready  for  their 
departure.  They  swallowed  their  breakfast  hastily,  and 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  107 

started  in  excited  silence  across  the  plateau.  Edwin  and 
the  horses  they  left  behind  in  charge  of  the  dairy-maids, 
but  took  with  them  an  old  staghound  who  had  some 
good  blood  in  him,  and  a  finer  scent  than  his  sedate  be- 
havior and  the  shape  of  his  nose  would  have  led  one  to 
suppose. 

Light  clouds  hovered  under  the  sky ;  the  mist  lay  like 
a  white  sheet  over  the  mountain,  and  drifted  in  patches 
across  the  plain.  Bjarne  and  Grim  were  carrying  the  guns, 
while  Olaf  led  the  hound,  and  Magnus  trotted  briskly 
along,  stopping  every  now  and  then  to  examine  every 
unfamiliar  object  that  came  in  his  way.  The  wind  blew 
toward  them,  so  that  there  was  no  chance  that  their 
scent  could  betray  them,  in  case  there  were  herds  of  deer 
toward  the  north  at  the  base  of  the  glaciers.  They  had 
not  walked  very  far,  when  Bjarne  put  his  hand  to  his  lips 
and  stooped  down  to  examine  the  ground.  The  dog  lifted 
his  nose  and  began  to  snuff  the  air,  wag  his  tail,  and 
whine  impatiently. 

"Hush,  Yutul,"  whispered  Bjarne;  "down!  down, 
and  keep  still !  " 

The  dog  crouched  down  obediently  and  held  his 
peace. 

"  Here  is  a  fresh  track,"  the  hunter  went  on,  pointing 
to  a  hardly  perceptible  depression  in  the  moss.  "  There 
has  been  a  large  herd  here — one  buck  and  at  least  a  dozen 
cows.  Look,  here  is  a  stalk  that  has  just  been  bitten  off, 
and  the  juice  is  not  dry  yet." 

"  How  long  do  you  think  it  will  be  before  we  shall 
meet  them  ?  "  asked  Magnus,  breathlessly.  The  hunting- 


/o8  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

fever  was  throbbing  in  his  veins,  and  he  crawled  cau« 
tiously  among  the  bowlders  with  his  rifle  cocked. 

"  Couldn't  tell ;  may  be  an  hour,  may  be  three.  Hand 
me  your  field-glass,  Lieutenant,  and  I  will  see  if  I  can 
catch  sight  of  'em.  A  gray  beast  ain't  easily  seen  agin 
the  gray  stone.  It  was  fer  the  same  reason  I  wanted 
ye  to  wear  gray  clothes ;  we  don't  want  to  give  the 
game  any  advantage,  fer  the  sentinels  be  allers  on  the 
lookout  fer  the  herd,  and  at  the  least  bit  of  unfamiliar 
color,  they  give  their  warnin'  snort,  and  off  starts  the 
flock,  scudding  away  like  a  drift  of  mist  before  the 
wind." 

Crouching  down  among  the  lichen-clad  rocks,  all  lis- 
tened in  eager  expectation. 

"  Down !  "  whispered  Bjarne,  "  and  cock  rifles  !  A 
pair  of  antlers  agin  the  snow  !  Hallo  !  it  is  as  I  thought 
— a  big  herd.  One,  two,  three — five — seven — ten — four- 
teen !  One  stunnin'  buck,  worth  his  forty  dollars  at  least. 
Now  follow  me  slowly.  Look  out  for  your  guns !  You, 
Grim,  keep  the  dog  muzzled." 

The  boys  strained  their  eyes  above  the  edge  of  the 
stones,  but  could  see  nothing.  Their  hearts  hammered 
against  their  sides,  and  the  blood  throbbed  in  their  tem- 
ples. As  far  as  their  eyes  could  reach  they  saw  only  the 
gray  waste  of  bowlders,  interrupted  here  and  there  by 
patches  of  snow  or  a  white  glacier-stream,  which  plunged 
wildly  over  a  precipice,  while  a  hovering  moke  indicated 
its  further  progress  through  the  plain.  Nevertheless,  trust- 
ing the  experience  of  their  leader,  they  made  no  remark, 
but  crept  after  him,  choosing  like  him  every  available 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  109 

stone  for  cover.  After  half  an  hour  of  this  laborious  ex- 
ercise, Bjarne  suddenly  stretched  himself  flat  upon  the 
ground,  and  the  others,  though  seeing  no  occasion  for 
such  a  manoeuvre,  promptly  followed  his  example.  But 
the  next  moment  enlightened  them.  Looming  up  against 
the  white  snow,  some  sixty  or  a  hundred  feet  from  them, 
they  saw  a  magnificent  pair  of  antlers,  and  presently  the 
whole  body  of  a  proud  animal  was  distinctly  visible 
against  the  glacier.  In  the  ravine  below  a  dozen  or  more 
cows  with  their  calves  were  nibbling  the  moss  between 
the  stones,  but  with  great  deliberateness,  lifting  their 
heads  every  minute  and  snuffing  the  air  suspiciously ; 
they  presently  climbed  up  on  the  hard  snow  and  began  a 
frolic,  the  like  of  which  the  boys  had  never  seen  before. 
The  great  buck  raised  himself  on  his  hind-legs,  shook 
his  head,  and  made  a  leap,  kicking  the  snow  about  him 
with  great  vehemence.  Several  of  the  cows  took  this  as 
an  invitation  for  a  general  jollification,  and  they  began  to 
frisk  about,  kicking  their  heels  against  the  sky  and  shak- 
ing their  heads,  not  with  the  wanton  grace  of  their  chief, 
but  with  half-pathetic  attempts  at  imitation.  This, 
Magnus  thought,  was  evidently  a  reindeer  ball ;  and 
very  sensible  they  were  to  have  it  early  in  the  morning, 
when  they  felt  gay  and  frisky,  rather  than  in  the  night, 
when  they  ought  to  be  asleep.  What  troubled  him,  how- 
ever, was  that  Bjarne  did  not  shoot ;  he  himself  did  not 
venture  to  send  a  bullet  into  the  big  buck,  although  it 
seemed  to  him  he  had  an  excellent  aim.  The  slightest 
turn  in  the  wind  would  inevitably  betray  them,  and  then 
they  would  have  had  all  their  toil  for  nothing.  He 


IIO  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

would  have  liked  to  suggest  this  to  Bjarne ;  but  in  order 
to  do  this,  he  would  have  to  overtake  him,  and  Bjarne 
was  still  wriggling  himself  cautiously  forward  among  the 
stones,  pushing  himself  on  with  his  elbows,  as  a  seal  does 
with  his  flippers.  In  his  eagerness  to  impart  his  counsel 
to  Bjarne,  Magnus  began  to  move  more  rapidly;  raising 
himself  on  his  knees  he  quite  inadvertently  showed  his 
curly  head  above  a  bowlder.  The  buck  lifted  his  superb 
head  with  a  snort,  and  with  incredible  speed  the  whole 
herd  galloped  away ;  but  in  the  same  moment  two  bul- 
lets whistled  after  them,  and  the  buck  fell  flat  upon  the 
snow.  The  cow  which  had  stood  nearest  to  him  reared 
on  her  hind-legs,  made  a  great  leap,  and  plunged  head- 
long down  among  the  stones.  With  a  wild  war-whoop, 
the  boys  jumped  up,  and  Magnus,  who  had  come  near 
ruining  the  whole  sport,  seized,  in  order  to  make  up  for 
his  mishap,  a  long  hunting-knife  and  rushed  forward  to 
give  the  buck  the  coup-de-grace*  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  the  chase.  Bounding  forward  with  reckless  dis- 
regard of  all  obstacles,  he  was  the  first  down  on  the  snow. 
In  one  instant  he  was  astride  of  the  animal,  and  had  just 
raised  his  knife,  when  up  leaped  the  buck  and  tore  away 
along  the  edge  of  the  snow  like  a  gust  of  wind.  The  long- 
range  shot,  hitting  him  in  the  head,  had  only  stunned  him, 
but  had  not  penetrated  the  skull.  And,  what  was  worse, 
in  his  bewilderment  at  the  unexpected  manoeuvre,  Mag- 
nus dropped  his  knife,  seizing  instinctively  the  horns  of 
the  reindeer  to  keep  from  falling.  Away  they  went  with 

*  The  finishing- stroke. 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  in 

a  terrific  dizzying  speed.  The  frightened  boy  clung  con- 
vulsively to  the  great  antlers ;  if  he  should  fall  off,  his 
head  would  be  crushed  against  the  bowlders.  The  cold 
glacier-wind  whistled  in  his  ears,  and  stung  his  face  like 
a  multitude  of  tiny  needles.  He  had  to  turn  his  head  in 
order  to  catch  his  breath  ;  and  he  strained  his  eyes  to 
see  if  anything  was  being  done  by  his  companions  for 
his  rescue.  But  he  could  see  nothing  except  a  great  ex- 
panse of  gray  and  white  lines,  which  ran  into  each  other 
and  climbed  and  undulated  toward  him  and  sloped  away, 
but  seemed  associated  with  no  tangible  object.  He 
thought,  for  a  moment,  that  he  saw  Grim  Hering-Luck 
aiming  his  gun,  but  he  seemed  to  be  up  in  the  sky,  and 
to  be  growing  huger  and  huger  until  he  looked  more 
like  a  fantastic  cloud  than  a  man.  The  thought  sud- 
denly struck  him  that  he  might  be  fainting,  and  it  sent 
a  thrill  of  horror  through  him.  With  a  vehement  effort 
he  mastered  his  fear  and  resolved  that,  whatever  hap- 
pened, he  would  not  give  way  to  weakness.  If  he  was  to 
lose  his  life,  he  would,  at  all  events,  make  a  hard  fight 
for  it ;  it  was,  on  the  whole,  quite  a  valuable  life,  he  con- 
cluded, and  he  did  not  mean  to  sell  it  cheaply. 

Troubling  himself  little  about  the  direction  his  steed 
was  taking,  he  shut  his  eyes,  and  began  to  meditate  upon 
hb  chances  of  escape ;  and  after  some  minutes,  he  was 
forced  to  admit  that  they  seemed  very  slim.  When  the 
buck  should  have  exhausted  his  strength,  as  in  the 
course  of  time  he  must,  he  would  leave  his  rider  some- 
where in  this  vast  trackless  wilderness,  where  the  biting 
wind  swept  down  from  the  eternal  peaks  of  ice,  where 


H2  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

wolves  roamed  about  in  great  hungry  companies,  and 
where,  beside  them,  the  reindeer  and  the  ptarmigan  were 
the  only  living  things  amid  the  universal  desolation. 
When  he  opened  his  eyes  again,  Magnus  discovered  that 
the  buck  had  overtaken  the  fleeing  herd,  which,  however, 
were  tearing  away  madly  at  his  approach,  being  evi- 
dently frightened  at  the  sight  and  the  scent  of  the  un- 
familiar rider.  The  animal  was  still  galloping  on,  though 
with  a  less  dizzying  rapidity,  and  Magnus  could  distin- 
guish the  general  outline  of  the  objects  which  seemed  to 
be  rushing  against  him,  as  if  running  a  race  in  the  oppo- 
site direction.  The  herd  were  evidently  betaking  them- 
selves into  the  upper  glacier  region,  where  no  foot  less 
light  and  swift  than  theirs  could  find  safety  among  the 
terrible  ravines  and  crevasses. 

Fully  an  hour  had  passed,  possibly  two,  and  it  seemed 
vain  to  attempt  to  measure  the  distance  which  he  had 
passed  over  in  this  time.  At  all  events,  the  region  did 
not  present  one  familiar  object,  and  of  Olaf  and  his  com- 
panions Magnie  saw  no  trace.  The  only  question  was, 
what  chance  had  they  of  finding  him,  if  they  undertook 
to  search  for  him,  as,  of  course,  they  would.  If  he  could 
only  leave  some  sign  or  mark  by  which  they  might  know 
the  direction  he  had  taken,  their  search  might  perhaps 
be  rewarded  with  success.  He  put  one  hand  in  his 
pocket,  but  could  find  nothing  that  he  could  spare  ex- 
cept a  red  silk  handkerchief.  That  had  the  advantage 
of  being  bright,  and  would  be  sure  to  attract  attention. 
The  dog  would  be  likely  to  detect  it  or  to  catch  the 
scent  of  it.  But  he  must  have  something  heavy  to  tie 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  113 

up  in  the  handkerchief,  or  it  might  blow  "  all  over  crea- 
tion." The  only  thing  he  could  find  was  a  silver  match- 
box which  he  had  obtained  by  a  trade  with  Olaf,  and 
which  bore  the  latter's  initials.  He  carefully  emptied  it, 
and  put  the  matches  (which  he  foresaw  might  prove  use- 
ful) in  his  vest-pocket ;  then  tied  up  the  box  securely 
and  dropped  it,  with  the  handkerchief,  upon  a  conspicu- 
ous rock,  where  its  bright  color  might  appear  striking 
and  unnatural.  He  was  just  on  the  ridge  of  what 
proved  to  be  a  second  and  higher  mountain  plateau,  the 
wild  grandeur  of  which  far  transcended  that  of  the  first. 
Before  him  lay  a  large  sheet  of  water  of  a  cool  green  tint, 
and  so  clear  that  the  bottom  was  visible  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach.  A  river  had  made  its  way  from  the 
end  of  this  lake  and  plunged,  in  a  series  of  short  cata- 
racts, down  the  slope  to  the  lower  plain. 

It  made  Magnus  shiver  with  dread  to  look  at  this 
coldly  glittering  surface,  and  what  was  his  horror  when 
suddenly  his  reindeer,  in  his  pursuit  of  the  herd,  which 
were  already  in  the  water,  rushed  in,  and  began,  with 
loud  snorts,  to  swim  across  to  the  farther  shore !  This 
was  an  unforeseen  stratagem  which  extinguished  his  last 
hope  of  rescue  ;  for  how  could  Bjarne  track  him  through 
the  water,  and  what  means  would  he  find  of  crossing,  in 
case  he  should  guess  that  the  herd  had  played  this  dan- 
gerous trick  on  him  ?  He  began  to  dread  also  that  the 
endurance  of  the  buck  would  be  exhausted  before  he 
reached  dry  land  again,  and  that  they  might  both  perish 
miserably  in  the  lake.  In  this  horrible  distress  nothing 
occurred  to  him  except  to  whisper  the  Lord's  Praver;  but 
8 


zi4  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

as  his  terror  increased,  his  voice  grew  louder  and  louder, 
until  he  fairly  shouted  the  words,  "  And  deliver  us  from 
evil,"  and  the  echoes  from  the  vast  solitudes  repeated, 
first  clearly  and  loudly,  then  with  fainter  and  fainter 
accents:  "And  deliver  us  from  evil — and  deliver  us 
from  evil."  His  despairing  voice  rang  strangely  under 
the  great  empty  sky,  and  rumbled  among  the  glaciers, 
which  flung  it  back  and  forth  until  it  died  away  in  the 
blue  distance.  It  was  as  if  the  vast  silent  wilderness, 
startled  at  the  sound  of  a  human  voice,  were  wonder- 
ingly  repeating  the  strange  and  solemn  words. 

A  vague  sense  of  security  stole  over  him  when  he  had 
finished  his  prayer.  But  the  chill  of  the  icy  water  had 
nearly  benumbed  his  limbs,  and  he  feared  that  the  loss 
of  heat  would  conquer  his  will,  and  make  him  uncon- 
scious before  the  buck  should  reach  the  shore.  He  felt 
distinctly  his  strength  ebbing  away,  and  he  knew  of 
nothing  that  he  could  do  to  save  himself.  Then  sud- 
denly a  daring  thought  flashed  through  his  brain.  With 
slow  and  cautious  movements  he  drew  his  legs  out  of 
the  water,  and,  standing  for  a  moment  erect  on  the 
buck's  back,  he  crawled  along  his  neck  and  climbed  up 
on  the  great  antlers,  steadying  himself  carefully  and 
clinging  with  all  his  might.  His  only  fear  was  that  the 
animal  would  shake  him  off  and  send  him  headlong  into 
the  icy  bath  from  which  he  was  endeavoring  to  escape. 
But,  after  two  futile  efforts,  during  which  the  boy  had 
held  on  only  by  desperate  exertion,  the  buck  would 
probably  have  resigned  himself  to  his  fate,  if  he  had  not 
been  in  imminent  danger  of  drowning.  Magnus  was. 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  115 

therefore,  much  against  his  will,  forced  to  dip  his  limbs 
into  the  chilly  water,  and  resume  his  former  position. 
It  was  a  strange  spectacle,  to  see  all  the  horned  heads 
round  about  sticking  out  of  the  water,  and  Magnus, 
though  he  had  always  had  a  thirst  for  adventures,  had 
never  expected  to  find  himself  himself  in  such  an  incredi- 
ble situation.  Fortunately,  they  were  now  approaching 
the  shore,  and  whatever  comfort  there  was  in  having 
terra  firma  under  his  feet  would  not  be  wanting  to  him. 
The  last  minutes  were  indeed  terribly  long,  and  again 
and  again  the  buck,  overcome  with  fatigue,  dipped  his 
nose  under  the  water,  only  to  raise  it  again  with  a  snort, 
and  shake  his  head  as  if  impatient  to  rid  himseli  of  his 
burden.  But  the  boy,  with  a  spark  of  reviving  hope, 
clung  only  the  more  tenaciously  to  the  antlers,  and  re- 
mained unmoved. 

At  last — and  it  seemed  a  small  eternity  since  he  had 
left  his  brother  and  companions — Magnus  saw  the  herd 
scramble  up  on  the  stony  beach.  The  buck  he  rode 
was  soon  among  the  foremost,  and,  having  reached  the 
land,  shook  his  great  body  and  snorted  violently. 

"  Now's  my  chance,"  thought  Magnus ;  "  now  I  can 
slide  off  into  the  snow  before  he  takes  to  his  heels 
again." 

But,  odd  as  it  may  seem,  he  had  a  reluctance  to  part 
company  with  the  only  living  creature  (except  the 
wolves)  that  inhabited  this  awful  desert.  There  was  a 
vague  chance  of  keeping  from  freezing  to  death  as  long 
as  he  clung  to  the  large,  warm  animal ;  while,  seated 
alone  upon  this  bleak  shore,  with  his  clothes  wringing 


Ii6  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

wet,  and  the  cold  breath  of  the  glacier  sweeping  down 
upon  him,  he  would  die  slowly  and  miserably  with  hun- 
ger and  cold.  He  was  just  contemplating  this  prospect, 
seeing  himself  in  spirit  lying  dead  upon  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  and  picturing  to  himself  the  grief  of  his  brother 
and  father,  when  suddenly  his  glance  was  arrested  by 
what  seemed  a  faint  column  of  smoke  rising  from  among 
the  bowlders.  The  herd  of  reindeer  had  evidently  made 
the  same  discovery,  for  they  paused,  in  a  startled  man- 
ner, and  wheeled  about  toward  the  easterly  shore,  past 
which  a  branch  of  the  glacier  was  pushing  downward 
into  the  lower  fiord-valley. 

Magnie,  who  had  by  this  time  made  up  his  mind  not 
to  give  up  his  present  place  except  for  a  better  one, 
strained  his  eye  in  the  opposite  direction,  to  make  sure 
that  he  was  not  deceived ;  and  having  satisfied  himself 
that  what  he  saw  was  really  smoke,  he  determined  to 
leap  from  his  seat  at  the  very  first  opportunity.  But  as 
yet  the  speed  of  the  buck  made  such  a  venture  unsafe. 
With  every  step,  however,  the  territory  was  becoming 
more  irregular,  and  made  the  progress  even  of  a  reindeer 
difficult. 

Magnus  drew  up  his  feet,  and  was  about  to  slide  off, 
having  planned  to  drop  with  as  slight  a  shock  as  possible 
upon  a  flat  moss-grown  rock,  when,  to  his  utter  amaze- 
ment, he  saw  a  human  figure  standing  at  the  edge  of  the 
glacier,  and  aiming  a  rifle,  as  it  appeared,  straight  at  his 
head.  He  tried  to  scream,  but  terror  choked  his  voice. 
He  could  not  bring  forth  a  sound.  And  before  even  the 
thought  had  taken  shape  in  his  bewildered  brain  he  saw 


MAGNIE^S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  117 

a  flash,  and  heard  the  report  of  a  shot  which  rumbled 
away  with  tremendous  reverberations  among  the  glaciers. 
There  was  a  surging  sound  in  his  ears,  and  strange  lights 
danced  before  his  eyes.  He  thought  he  must  be  dead. 


II. 

MAGNIE  never  knew  how  long  he  was  unconscious. 
The  first  thing  he  remembered  was  a  delicious  sense  of 
warmth  and  comfort  stealing  through  him,  and  strange, 
unintelligible  sounds  buzzing  in  the  air  about  him. 
Somebody  was  talking  kindly  to  him,  and  a  large,  warm 
hand  was  gliding  over  his  forehead  and  cheeks.  The 
peace  and  warmth  were  grateful  to  him  after  the  intense 
strain  of  his  dangerous  ride.  He  was  even  loth  to  open 
his  eyes  when  his  reviving  memory  began  to  make  the 
situation  clear  to  him. 

"  It  was  a  reckless  shot,  Harry,"  he  heard  someone 
say  in  a  foreign  tongue,  which  he  soon  recognized  as 
English,  "even  if  it  did  turn  out  well.  Suppose  you 
had  sent  your  bullet  crashing  through  the  young  fellow 
instead  of  the  buck.  How  would  you  have  felt  then  ?  " 

"  I  should  have  felt  very  badly,  I  am  sure,"  answered 
a  younger  voice,  which  obviously  belonged  to  Magnie's 
rescuer  ;  "  but  I  followed  my  usual  way  of  doing  things. 
If  I  didn't  act  that  way,  I  shouldn't  act  at  all.  And  you 
will  admit,  Uncle,  it  is  a  queer  sort  of  thing  to  see  a  fel- 
low come  riding  on  a  reindeer  buck,  in  the  midst  of  a 
wild  herd,  and  in  a  trackless  wilderness  like  this,  where 
nobody  but  wolves  or  geologists  would  be  apt  to  dis- 


/i8  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

cover  any  attractions.  Now,  I  saw  by  the  young  man's 
respectable  appearance  that  he  couldn't  be  a  geologist ;  and 
if  he  was  a  wolf,  I  didn't  mind  much  if  I  did  shoot  him." 

At  this  point  Magnie  opened  his  eyes  and  stared  won* 
deringly  about  him.  He  found  himself  in  a  small, 
cramped  room,  the  walls  of  which  were  draped  with  can- 
vas, and  scarcely  high  enough  under  the  ceiling  to  allow 
a  man  to  stand  erect.  Against  the  walls  a  number  of 
shining  brass  instruments  were  leaning,  and  in  a  corner 
there  was  a  hearth,  the  smoke  of  which  escaped  through 
a  hole  in  the  roof.  Two  bunks  filled  with  moss,  with  a 
sheet  and  a  blanket  thrown  over  each,  completed  the 
outfit  of  the  primitive  dwelling.  But  Magnie  was  more 
interested  in  the  people  than  in  the  looks  of  the  room. 
A  large,  blond,  middle-aged  man,  inclined  to  stoutness, 
was  holding  Magnie's  hand  as  if  counting  his  pulse-beat, 
and  a  very  good-looking  young  fellow,  of  about  his  own 
age,  was  standing  at  the  hearth,  turning  a  spit  upon 
which  was  a  venison  steak. 

"  Hallo  !  Our  young  friend  is  returning  from  the  land 
of  Nod,"  said  the  youth  who  had  been  addressed  as 
Harry.  "  I  am  glad  you  didn't  start  on  a  longer  jour- 
ney, young  chap,  when  I  fired  at  you  ;  for  if  you  had  you 
would  have  interfered  seriously  with  my  comfort." 

Magnie,  who  was  a  fair  English  scholar,  understood 
perfectly  what  was  said  to  him,  but  several  minutes 
elapsed  before  he  could  collect  himself  sufficiently  to  an- 
swer. In  order  to  gain  time,  he  made  an  effort  to  raise 
himself  and  take  a  closer  look  at  his  surroundings,  but 
was  forced  by  the  older  man  to  abandon  tKs 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  119 

"  Not  so  fast,  my  dear,  not  so  fast ;  "  he  said,  stooping 
over  him,  and  gently  pushing  him  back  into  a  reclining 
position.  "  You  must  remember  that  you  have  a  big 
lump  on  your  head  from  your  fall,  and  it  won't  do  to  be 
frisky  just  yet.  But  before  conversing  further,  it  might 
be  well  to  ascertain  whether  we  understand  each  other." 

"  Yes,  I  think — I  think — I  do,"  stammered  Magnie. 
"  I  know  some  English." 

"  Ah,  then  we  shall  get  along  charmingly,"  the  man  re- 
marked, with  an  encouraging  smile.  "  And  I  think 
Harry's  venison  steak  is  done  by  this  time ;  and  dinner, 
as  you  know,  affords  the  most  delightful  opportunity  for 
getting  acquainted.  Gunnar,  our  guide,  who  is  outside 
skinning  your  reindeer  buck,  will  soon  present  himself 
and  serve  the  dinner.  Here  he  is,  and  he  is  our  cook, 
butler,  chambermaid,  laundress,  beast  of  burden,  and  in- 
terpreter, all  in  one." 

The  man  to  whom  the  professor  alluded  was  at  this 
moment  seen  crawling  on  his  hands  and  knees  through  the 
low  door-way,  which  his  bulky  figure  completely  filled. 
He  was  a  Norwegian  peasant  of  the  ordinary  sort,  with 
a  square,  rudely  cut  face,  dull  blue  eyes,  and  a  tuft  of 
towy  hair  hanging  down  over  his  forehead.  With  one 
hand  he  was  dragging  the  skin  of  the  buck,  and  between 
his  teeth  he  held  an  ugly-looking  knife. 

"  Ve  haf  got  to  bury  him,"  he  said. 

"  Bury  him  !  "  cried  Harry.  "  Why,  you  blood-thirsty 
wretch,  don't  you  see  he  is  sitting  there,  looking  as 
bright  as  a  sixpence  ?  " 

"  I  mean  de  buck,"  replied  Gunnar,  imperturbably. 


TIO  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

"  And  why  do  you  wish  to  bury  the  buck  ?  I  would 
much  rather  eat  him.  This  steak  here  has  a  most  tempt- 
ing flavor,  and  I  am  quite  tired  of  canned  abominations 
by  this  time." 

"  De  volves  vill  be  sure  to  scent  de  meat,  now  dat  it  is 
flayed,  and  before  an  hour  ve  might  haf  a  whole  congre- 
gation of  dem  here." 

"  Well,  then,  we  will  shoot  them  down,"  insisted  the 
cheerful  Harry.  "  Come,  now,  Uncle,  and  let  us  have  a 
civilized  dinner.  I  don't  pretend  to  be  an  expert  in  the 
noble  art  of  cookery  ;  but  if  this  tastes  as  good  as  it 
smells,  I  wouldn't  exchange  it  for  a  Delmonico  banquet. 
And  if  the  wolves,  as  Gunnar  says,  can  smell  a  dead 
reindeer  miles  away,  they  would  be  likely  to  smell  a 
venison  steak  from  the  ends  of  creation.  Perhaps,  if  we 
don't  hurry,  all  the  wolves  of  the  earth  may  invite  them- 
selves to  our  dinner." 

Gunnar,  upon  whom  this  fanciful  raillery  was  lost,  was 
still  standing  on  all-fours  in  the  door,  with  his  front  half 
in  the  warm  room  and  his  rearward  portion  in  the  arctic 
regions  without.  He  was  gazing  helplessly  from  one  to 
another,  as  if  asking  for  an  explanation  of  all  this  super- 
fluous talk.  "  Vill  you  cawme  and  help  me,  Mester 
Harry  ?  "  he  asked  at  last,  stolidly. 

"  Yes,  when  I  have  had  my  dinner  I  will,  Mester 
Gunnar,"  answered  Harry,  gayly. 

"  Veil,  I  haf  netting  more  to  say,  den,"  grumbled  the 
guide;  "  but  it  vould  vonder  me  much  if,  before  you  are 
troo,  you  von't  have  some  unbidden  guests." 

"All  right,  Gunnar — the  more  the  merrier,"  retorted 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  i2\ 

Harry  as,  with  exaggerated  imitation  of  a  waiter's  man- 
ner, he  distributed  plates,  knives,  and  napkins  to  Magnie 
and  his  uncle. 

They  now  fell  to  chatting,  and  Magnie  learned,  after 
having  given  a  brief  account  of  himself,  that  his  enter- 
tainers were  Professor  Winchester,  an  American  geologist, 
and  his  nephew,  Harry  Winchester,  who  was  accompany- 
ing his  uncle,  chiefly  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  and  also 
for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the  world  and  picking  up  some 
crumbs  of  scientific  knowledge.  The  professor  was 
especially  interested  in  glaciers  and  their  action  in  ages 
past  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and,  as  the  Norwe- 
gian glaciers  had  never  been  thoroughly  studied,  he  had 
determined  to  devote  a  couple  of  months  to  observa- 
tions and  measurements,  with  a  view  to  settling  some 
mooted  geological  questions  upon  which  he  had  almost 
staked  his  reputation. 

They  had  just  finished  the  steak,  which  would  per- 
haps have  been  tenderer  if  it  had  not  been  so  fresh,  and 
were  helping  themselves  to  the  contents  of  a  jar  of  rasp- 
berry preserves,  when  Harry  suddenly  dropped  his  spoon 
and  turned,  with  a  serious  face,  to  his  uncle. 

"  Did  you  hear  that  ?  "  he  said. 

"  No ;  what  was  it  ?  " 

Harry  waited  for  a  minute ;  then,  as  a  wild,  doleful 
howl  was  heard,  he  laid  his  hand  on  the  professor's  arm, 
and  remarked :  "  The  old  fellow  was  right.  We  shall 
have  unbidden  guests." 

"  But  they  are  hardly  dangerous  in  these  regions,  so 
far  as  I  can  learn,"  said  the  professor,  reassuringly. 


122  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

"  That  depends  upon  their  number.  We  could  tackle 
a  dozen  ;  but  two  dozen  we  might  find  troublesome.  At 
any  rate,  they  have  spoiled  my  appetite  for  raspberry 
jam,  and  that  is  something  I  sha'n't  soon  forgive  them." 

Three  or  four  howls  sounding  nearer,  and  echoing  with 
terrible  distinctness  from  the  glaciers,  seemed  to  depress 
Harry's  spirits  still  further,  and  he  put  the  jar  away  and 
began  to  examine  the  lock  of  his  rifle. 

"  They  are  evidently  summoning  a  mass-meeting,"  re- 
marked the  professor,  as  another  chorus  of  howls  re- 
echoed from  the  glacier.  "  I  wish  we  had  more  guns." 

"  And  I  wish  mine  were  a  Remington  or  a  Springfield 
breech-loader,  with  a  dozen  cartridges  in  it ! "  Harry  ex- 
claimed. "  These  double-barrelled  Norwegian  machines, 
with  two  shots  in  them,  are  really  good  for  nothing  in  an 
emergency.  They  are  antediluvian  both  in  shape  and 
construction." 

He  had  scarcely  finished  this  lament,  when  Gunnar's 
huge  form  reappeared  in  the  door,  quadruped  fashion, 
and  made  an  attempt  to  enter.  But  his  great  bulk 
nearly  filled  the  narrow  room,  and  made  it  impossible  for 
the  others  to  move.  He  examined  silently  first  Harry's 
rifle,  then  his  own,  cut  off  a  slice  of  steak  with  his  pocket- 
knife,  and  was  about  to  crawl  out  again,  when  the  pro- 
fessor, who  could  not  quite  conceal  his  anxiety,  asked 
him  what  he  had  done  with  the  reindeer. 

"  Ot4 !  "  he  answered,  triumphantly,  "  I  haf  buried  him 
among  de  stones,  vhere  he  vill  be  safe  from  all  de  volves 
in  de  vorld." 

"  But,  my  dear  fellow,"  ejaculated  the  professor,  hotly, 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  123 

"  why  didn't  you  rather  let  the  wolves  have  it  ?  Then, 
at  least,  they  would  spare  us." 

"You  surely  vouldn't  gif  a  goot  fresh  reindeer,  legs 
and  all,  to  a  pack  of  skountrelly  volves,  vould  you  ?" 

"  I  would  much  rather  give  them  that  than  give  them 
myself." 

"  But  it  is  vort  tventy  dollars,  if  you  can  get  it  down 
fresh  and  sell  it  to  de  English  yachts,"  protested  Gunnar, 
stolidly. 

"  Yes,  yes ;  but  you  great  stupid,"  cried  the  professor 
in  despair,  "  what  do  you  think  my  life  is  worth  ?  and 
Master  Harry's  ?  and  this  young  fellow's  ?  "  (pointing  to 
Magnie).  "  Now  go  as  quick  as  you  can  and  dig  the 
deer  out  again." 

Gunnar,  scarcely  able  to  comprehend  such  criminal 
wastefulness,  was  backing  out  cautiously  with  his  feet 
foremost,  when  suddenly  he  gave  a  scream  and  a  jump 
which  nearly  raised  the  roof  from  the  hut.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  he  had  been  bitten.  In  the  same  moment  a 
fresh  chorus  of  howls  resounded  without,  mingled  with 
sharp,  whining  barks,  expressive  of  hunger  and  ferocity. 
There  was  something  shudderingly  wild  and  mournful  in 
these  long-drawn  discords,  as  they  rose  toward  the  sky  in 
this  lonely  desert ;  and  brave  as  he  was,  Magnie  could 
not  restrain  the  terror  which  he  felt  stealing  upon  him. 
Weakened  by  his  icy  bath,  moreover,  and  by  the  nervous 
strain  of  his  first  adventure,  he  had  no  great  desire  to  en- 
counter a  pack  of  ravenous  wolves.  Still,  he  manned 
himself  for  the  occasion  and,  in  as  steady  a  voice  as  he 
could  command,  begged  the  professor  to  hand  him  some 


124  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

weapon.  Harry,  who  had  instinctively  taken  the  lead, 
had  just  time  to  reach  him  a  long  hunting-knife,  and  arm 
his  uncle  with  an  ax,  when,  through  the  door  which 
Gunnar  had  left  open,  two  wolves  came  leaping  in  and 
paused  in  bewilderment  at  the  sight  of  the  fire  on  the 
hearth.  They  seemed  dazed  by  the  light,  and  stood 
panting  and  blinking,  with  their  trembling  red  tongues 
lolling  out  of  their  mouths.  Harry,  whose  gun  was  use- 
less at  such  close  range,  snatched  the  ax  away  from  the 
professor,  and  at  one  blow  split  the  skull  of  one  of  the 
intruders,  while  Magnie  ran  his  knife  up  to  the  very  hilt 
in  the  neck  of  the  other.  The  beast  was,  however,  by  no 
means  dead  after  that,  but  leaped  up  on  his  assailant's 
chest,  and  would  have  given  him  an  ugly  wound  in  the 
neck  had  not  the  professor  torn  it  away  and  flung  it 
down  upon  the  fire,  where,  with  a  howling  whine,  it  ex- 
pired. The  professor  had  also  found  time  to  bolt  the 
door  before  more  visitors  could  enter ;  and  two  succes- 
sive shots  without  seemed  to  indicate  that  Gunnar  was 
holding  his  own  against  the  pack.  But  the  question  was, 
how  long  would  he  succeed  in  keeping  them  at  bay  ?  He 
had  fired  both  his  shots,  and  he  would  scarcely  have  a 
chance  to  load  again,  with  the  hungry  beasts  leaping 
about  him.  This  they  read  in  one  another's  faces,  but 
no  one  was  anxious  to  anticipate  the  other  in  uttering 
his  dread. 

"  Help,  help  !  "  cried  Gunnar,  in  dire  need. 

"  Take  your  hand  away,  Uncle ! "  demanded  Harry. 
"  I  am  going  out  to  help  him." 

"  For  your  life's  sake,  Harry,"  implored  the  professor, 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  125 

"don't  go  1  Let  me  go  !  What  would  your  mother  say 
to  me  if  I  should  return  without  you  ?  " 

"  I'll  come  back  again,  Uncle,  don't  you  fear,"  said  the 
youth,  with  feigned  cheerfulness ;  "  but  I  won't  let  this 
poor  fellow  perish  before  my  very  eyes,  even  though  he 
is  a  fool." 

"  It  was  his  foolishness  which  brought  this  danger 
upon  us,"  remonstrated  the  professor. 

"  He  knew  no  better,"  cried  Harry,  tearing  the  door 
open,  and  with  ax  uplifted  rushing  out  into  the  the  twi- 
light. What  he  saw  seemed  merely  a  dark  mass,  hud- 
dled together  and  swaying  sideways,  from  which  now 
and  then  a  black  figure  detached  itself  with  a  how!, 
jumped  wildly  about,  and  again  joined  the  dark,  strug- 
gling mass.  He  could  distinguish  Gunnar's  head,  and 
his  arms  fighting  desperately,  and,  from  the  yelps  and 
howls  of  the  wolves,  he  concluded  that  he  had  thrown 
away  the  rifle  and  was  using  his  knife  with  good  effect. 

"  Help  !  "  he  yelled,  "  help !  " 

"  You  shall  have  it,  old  fellow,"  cried  Harry,  plunging 
forward  and  swinging  his  ax  about  him  ;  and  the  pro- 
fessor, who  had  followed  close  at  his  heels,  shouting  at 
the  top  of  his  voice,  pressed  in  Harry's  wake  right  into 
the  centre  of  the  furious  pack.  But,  at  that  very  in- 
stant, there  came  a  long  "  Hallo-o  ! "  from  the  lake  be- 
low, and  a  rifle-bullet  flew  whistling  above  their  heads 
and  struck  a  rock  scarcely  a  yard  above  the  professors 
hat.  Several  wolves  lay  gasping  and  yelping  on  the 
ground,  and  the  rest  slunk  aside.  Another  shot  fol- 
lowed, and  a  large  beast  made  a  leap  and  fell  dead 


126  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

among  the  stones.  Gunnar,  who  was  lying  bleeding 
upon  the  ground,  was  helped  to  his  feet,  and  supported 
by  Harry  and  the  professor  to  the  door  of  the  cottage. 

"  Hallo,  there ! "  shouted  Harry,  in  response  to  the 
call  from  below. 

"  Hallo  1 "  someone  shouted  back. 

The  figures  of  three  men  were  now  seen  looming  up 
in  the  dusk,  and  Magnie,  who  instinctively  knew  who 
they  were,  sprang  to  meet  them,  and  in  another  moment 
lay  sobbing  in  his  brother's  arms.  The  poor  lad  was  so 
completely  unnerved  by  the  prolonged  suspense  and  ex- 
citement, that  he  had  to  be  carried  back  into  the  hut, 
and  his  brother,  after  having  hurriedly  introduced  him- 
self to  the  professor,  came  very  near  giving  way  to  his 
feelings,  too.  Gunnar's  wounds,  which  were  numerous, 
though  not  serious,  were  washed  and  bandaged  by  Grim 
Hering-Luck;  and  having  been  wrapped  in  a  horse- 
blanket,  to  keep  out  the  cold,  he  was  stowed  away  in  a 
bunk  and  was  soon  asleep.  As  the  hut  was  too  small  to 
admit  all  the  company  at  once,  Grim  and  Bjarne  re- 
mained outside,  and  busied  themselves  in  skinning  the 
seven  wolves  which  had  fallen  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Harry,  who  had  got  a  bad  bite  in  his  arm,  which  he  re- 
fused to  regard  as  serious,  consented  with  reluctance  to 
his  uncle's  surgery,  and  insisted  upon  sitting  up  and  con- 
versing with  Olaf  Birk,  to  whom  he  had  taken  a  great 
liking.  But  after  a  while  the  conversation  began  to  lag, 
and  tired  heads  began  to  droop ;  and  when,  about  mid- 
night, Grim  crept  in  to  see  how  his  invalid  was  doing, 
he  found  the  professor  reclining  on  some  loose  moss 


MAGNIE'S  DANGEROUS  RIDE.  127 

upon  the  floor,  while  Harry  was  snoring  peacefully  in  a 
bunk,  using  Olafs  back  for  a  pillow.  And  Olaf,  in  spite 
of  his  uncomfortable  attitude,  seemed  also  to  have  found 
his  way  to  the  land  of  Nod.  Grim,  knowing  the  danger 
of  exposure  in  this  cold  glacier  air,  covered  them  all  up 
frith  skins  and  horse-blankets,  threw  a  few  dry  sticks 
upon  the  fire,  and  resumed  his  post  as  sentinel  at  the 
door. 

The  next  morning  Professor  Winchester  and  his 
nephew  accepted  Olafs  invitation  to  spend  a  few  days  at 
Hasselrud,  and  without  further  adventures  the  whole 
caravan  descended  into  the  valley,  calling  on  their  way 
at  the  saeter  where  Edwin  had  been  left.  It  appeared, 
when  they  came  to  discuss  the  strange  incidents  of  the 
preceding  day,  that  it  was  Magnie's  silk  handkerchief 
which  had  enabled  them  to  track  him  to  the  edge  of  the 
lake,  and,  by  means  of  a  raft,  which  Bjarne  kept  hidden 
among  the  stones  in  a  little  bay,  they  had  been  enabled 
to  cross,  leaving  their  horses  in  charge  of  a  shepherd  boy 
whom  they  had  found  tending  goats  close  by. 

The  reindeer  cow  which  Olaf  had  killed  was  safely 
carried  down  to  the  valky,  and  two  wolf-skins  were  pre- 
sented to  Magnie  by  Harry  Winchester.  The  other 
wolf-skins,  as  well  as  the  skin  of  the  reindeer  buck, 
Bjarne  prepared  in  a  special  manner,  and  Harry  looked 
forward  with  much  pleasure  to  seeing  them  as  rugs  upon 
the  floor  of  his  room  at  college ;  and  he  positively 
swelled  with  pride  when  he  imagined  himself  relating  to 
his  admiring  fellow-students  the  adventures  which  had 
brought  him  these  precious  possessions. 


THORWALD  AND  THE  STAR-CHILDREN. 


THORWALD's  mother  was  very  ill  The  fever  burned 
and  throbbed  in  her  veins ;  she  lay,  all  day  long  and  all 
night  long,  with  her  eyes  wide  open,  and  could  not  sleep. 
The  doctor  sat  at  her  bedside  and  looked  at  her  through 
his  spectacles  ;  but  she  grew  worse  instead  of  better. 

"  Unless  she  can  sleep  a  sound,  natural  sleep/'  he  said, 
"  there  is  no  hope  for  her,  I  fear." 

It  was  to  Thorwald's  father  that  he  said  this,  but 
Thorwald  heard  what  he  said.  The  little  boy,  with  his 
dog  Hector,  was  sitting  mournfully  upon  the  great  wolf- 
skin outside  his  mother's  door. 

*  Is  my  mamma  very  ill  ?  "  he  asked  the  doctor,  but 
the  tears  choked  his  voice,  and  he  hid  his  face  in  the  hair 
of  Hector's  shaggy  neck. 

"Yes,  child,"  answered  the  doctor;  " very  ill" 

"  And  will  God  take  my  mamma  away  from  me  ?  "  he 
faltered,  extricating  himself  from  Hector's  embrace,  and 
trying  hard  to  steady  his  voice  and  look  brave. 

"  I  am  afraid  He  will,  my  child,"  said  the  doctor,  gravely 

"  But  could  I  not  do  something  for  her,  doctor  ? " 


THORWALD  AND   THE   STAR-CHILDREN.  129 

The  long  suppressed  tears  now  broke  forth,  and  trickled 
down  over  the  boy's  cheeks, 

"  You,  a  child,  what  can  you  do  ? "  said  the  doctor, 
kindly,  and  shook  his  head. 

Just  then  there  was  a  great  noise  in  the  air.  The 
chimes  in  the  steeple  of  the  village  church  pealed  forth  a 
joyous  Christmas  carol,  and  the  sound  soared,  rushing  as 
with  invisible  wing-beats  through  the  clear,  frosty  air. 
For  it  was  Christmas-eve,  and  the  bells  were,  according 
to  Norse  custom,  "  ringing-in  the  festival."  Thonvald 
stood  long  listening,  with  folded  hands,  until  the  bells 
seemed  to  take  up  the  doctor's  last  words,  and  chime : 
"  What  can  you  do,  what  can  you  do,  what  can  you  do  ?" 
Surely,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  that  was  what  the 
bells  were  saying.  The  clear  little  silvery  bells  that  rang 
out  the  high  notes  were  every  moment  growing  more  im- 
patient, and  now  the  great  heavy  bell  joined  them,  too,  and 
tolled  out  slowly,  in  a  deep  bass  voice,  "  Thor — wald  !  w 
and  then  all  the  little  ones  chimed  in  with  the  chorus,  as 
rapidly  as  the  stiff  iron  tongues  could  wag :  "  What  can 
you  do,  what  can  you  do,  what  can  you  do  ?  Thonvald, 
what  can  you  do,  what  can  you  do,  what  can  you  do  ?  " 

"  A  child— ah,  what  can  a  child  do  ?  "  thought  Thor- 
wald.  "  Christ  was  himself  a  child  once,  and  He  saved 
the  whole  world.  And  on  a  night  like  this,  when  all  the 
world  is  glad  because  it  is  His  birthday,  He  perhaps  will 
remember  how  a  little  boy  feels  who  loves  his  mamma, 
and  cannot  bear  to  lose  her.  If  I  only  knew  where  He 
is  now,  I  would  go  to  Him,  even  if  it  were  ever  so  far, 
and  tell  Him  how  much  we  all  love  mamma,  and  I 


/3o  THE  MODERN    VIKINGS. 

would  promise  Him  to  be  the  best  boy  in  all  the 
if  He  would  allow  her  to  stay  with  us." 

Now  the  church-bells  suddenly  stopped,  though  the 
air  still  kept  quivering  for  some  minutes  with  faint  re- 
verberations of  sound.  It  was  very  quiet  in  the  large, 
old-fashioned  house.  The  servants  stole  about  on  tiptoe, 
and  spoke  to  each  other  in  hurried  whispers  when  they 
met  in  the  halls.  A  dim  lamp,  with  a  bluish  globe,  hung 
under  the  ceiling  and  sent  a  faint,  moon-like  light  over 
the  broad  oaken  staircase,  upon  the  first  landing  of  which 
a  large  Dutch  dock  stood  in  a  sort  of  niche,  and  ticked 
and  ticked  patiently  in  the  twilight.  It  was  only  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  yet  the  moon  had  been  up 
for  more  than  an  hour,  and  the  stars  were  twinkling  in 
the  sky,  and  the  aurora  borealis  swept  with  broad  sheets 
of  light  through  the  air,  like  a  huge  fan,  the  handle  of 
which  was  hidden  beneath  the  North  Pole ;  you  almost 
imagined  you  heard  it  whizzing  past  your  ears  as  it  flashed 
upward  to  the  zenith  and  flared  along  the  horizon.  For  at 
that  season  of  the  year  the  sun  sets  at  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  northern  part  of  Norway,  and  the  day  is  then  but  four 
hours  long,  while  the  night  is  twenty.  To  Thorwald  that 
was  a  perfectly  proper  and  natural  arrangement ;  for  he 
had  always  known  it  so  in  winter,  and  he  would  have 
found  it  very  singular  if  the  sun  had  neglected  to  hide  be- 
hind the  mountains  at  about  two  o'clock  on  Christmas-eve. 

But  poor  Thorwald  heeded  little  the  wonders  of  the 
sky  that  day.  He  heard  the  clock  going,  "  Tick — tack, 
tick — tack,"  and  he  knew  that  the  precious  moments 
were  flying,  and  he  had  not  yet  decided  what  he  could 


THORWALD  AND   THE   STAR-CHILDREN',  131 

do  which  might  please  God  so  well  that  he  would  con- 
sent to  let  his  dear  mamma  remain  upon  earth.  He 
thought  of  making  a  vow  to  be  very  good  all  his  life 
long ;  but  it  occurred  to  him  that  before  he  would  have 
time  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  his  promise,  God  might 
already  have  taken  his  mamma  away.  He  must  find 
some  shorter  and  surer  method.  Down  on  the  knoll, 
near  the  river,  he  knew  there  lived  a  woman  whom  all 
the  peasants  held  in  great  repute,  and  who  was  known  in 
the  parish  as  "  Wise  Marthie."  He  had  always  been 
half  afraid  of  her,  because  she  was  very  old  and  wrinkled, 
and  looked  so  much  like  the  fairy  godmother  in  his  story- 
book, who  was  not  invited  to  the  christening  fea&t,  and 
who  revenged  herself  by  stinging  the  princess  with  a 
spindle,  so  that  she  had  to  go  to  sleep  for  a  hundred  years. 
But  if  she  were  so  wise,  as  all  the  people  said,  perhaps 
she  might  tell  him  what  he  should  do  to  save  the  life  oif 
his  mamma.  Hardly  had  this  thought  struck  him  be- 
fore he  seized  his  cap  and  overcoat  (for  it  was  a  bitter 
cold  night),  and  ran  to  the  stable  to  fetch  his  skees.* 

*  Skees  (Norwegian  skier)  are  a  peculiar  kind  of  snow-shoes,  generally 
from  five  to  nine  feet  long,  but  only  a  few  inches  broad.  They  are  made 
of  tough  pine -wood,  and  are  smoothly  polished  on  the  under  side,  so  as  to 
make  them  glide  the  more  easily  over  the  surface  of  the  snow.  In  the  mid- 
dle there  are  bands  to  put  the  feet  into,  and  the  front  end  of  each  skee  is 
pointed  and  strongly  bent  \ju*vsir<V,  TUis  enables  the  runner  fo  slide  easily 
over  logs,  hillocks;,  *to4  other  obstacles,  instead  of  thrusting  against  them. 
TKe  aU«*^  -Ttjy  goes  in  straight  lines  ;  still  the  runner  can,  even  when  mov- 
;:-^  with  great  speed,  change  his  course  at  pleasure  by  means  of  a  long 
pole  which  he  carries  for  this  purpose,  and  uses  as  a  sort  of  rudder.  Skee* 
are  especially  convenient  for  sliding  downhill,  but  are  also,  for  walking  in 
deep  snow,  much  superior  to  the  common  American  snow-shoes. 


I32  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

Then  down  he  slid  over  the  steep  hill-side.  The  wind 
whistled  in  his  ears,  and  the  loose  snow  whirled  about 
him  and  settled  in  his  hair,  and  all  over  his  trousers  and 
his  coat.  When  he  reached  Wise  Marthie's  cottage, 
down  on  the  knoll,  he  looked  like  a  wandering  snow 
image.  He  paused  for  a  moment  at  the  door ;  then  took 
heart  and  gave  three  bold  raps  with  his  skee-staff.  He 
heard  someone  groping  about  within,  and  at  length  a 
square  hole  in  the  door  was  opened,  and  the  head  of  the 
revengeful  fairy  godmother  was  thrust  out  through  the 
opening. 

"  Who  is  there  ?  "  asked  Wise  Marthie,  harshly  (for,  of 
course,  it  was  none  other  than  she).  Then  as  she  saw 
the  small  boy,  covered  all  over  with  snow,  she  added,  in 
a  friendlier  voice  :  "  Ah  !  gentlefolk  out  walking  in  this 
rough  weather  ?  " 

"  O  Marthie !  "  cried  Thorwald,  anxiously,  "  my  mam- 
ma is  very  ill " 

He  wished  to  say  more,  but  Marthie  here  opened  the 
lower  panel  of  the  door,  while  the  upper  one  remained 
closed,  and  invited  him  to  enter. 

"  Bend  your  head,"  she  said, "  or  you  will  knock  against 
the  door.  I  am  a  poor  woman,  and  can't  afford  to  waste 
precious  heat  by  opening  both  panels." 

Thorwald  shook  the  snow  from  his  coat,  set  his  skees 
against  the  wall  outside,  and  entered  the  cottage. 

"  Take  a  seat  here  at  the  fire,"  said  the  old  woman, 
pointing  to  a  wooden  block  which  stood  close  to  the 
hearth.  "  You  must  be  very  cold,  and  you  can  warm 
your  hands  while  you  tell  me  your  errand.H 


THORWALD   AND   THE  STAR-CHILDREN.  133 

"  Thank  you,  Marthie,"  answered  the  boy,  "  but  I 
have  no  time  to  sit  down.  I  only  wanted  to  ask  you 
something,  and  if  you  can  tell  me  that,  I  shall — I  shall 
— love  you  as  long  as  I  live." 

Old  Marthie  smiled,  and  Thorwald  thought  for  a  mo- 
ment that  she  looked  almost  handsome.  And  then  she 
took  his  hand  in  hers  and  drew  him  gently  to  her  side. 

"You  are  not  a  witch,  are  you,  Marthie  ?  "  he  said,  a 
little  tremblingly.  For  Marthie's  association  with  the 
wicked  fairy  godmother  was  yet  very  suggestive.  Then, 
again,  her  cottage  seemed  to  be  a  very  queer  place  ;  and 
it  did  not  look  like  any  other  cottage  that  he  had  ever 
seen  before.  Up  under  the  ceiling,  which  was  black  and 
sooty,  hung  bunches  of  dried  herbs,  and  on  shelves  along 
the  wall  stood  flower-pots,  some  of  which  had  blooming 
flowers  in  them.  The  floor  was  freshly  scrubbed,  and 
strewn  with  juniper-needles,  and  the  whole  room  smelt 
very  clean.  In  a  corner,  between  the  stone  hearth  and 
the  wall,  a  bed,  made  of  plain  deal  boards,  was  to  be 
seen ;  a  shaggy  Maltese  cat,  with  sleepy,  yellow  eyes, 
was  for  the  present  occupying  it,  and  he  raised  his  head 
and  gazed  knowingly  at  the  visitor,  as  if  to  say :  "  I 
know  what  you  have  come  for." 

Old  Marthie  chuckled  when  Thorwald  asked  if  she 
was  a  witch ;  and  somehow  her  chuckle  had  a  pleasant 
and  good-natured  sound,  the  boy  thought,  as  he  eyed 
her  wistfully. 

"  Now  I  am  sure  you  are  not  a  witch,"  cried  he,  "  for 
witches  never  laugh  like  that.  I  know,  now,  that  you 
are  a  good  woman,  and  that  you  will  want  to  help  me;« 


t34  THE  MODERN  VIR2NGS. 

if  you  can.  I  told  you  my  mamma  was  very  ill  *  (the 
tears  here  again  broke  through  his  voice) — "  so  very  ill 
that  the  doctor  says  God  will  take  her  away  from  us.  1 
sat  at  her  door  all  yesterday  and  cried,  and  when  papa 
took  me  in  to  her,  she  did  not  know  me.  Then  I  cried 
more.  I  asked  papa  why  God  makes  people  so  ill,  and 
he  said  it  was  something  I  didn't  understand,  but  I 
should  understand  some  day.  But,  Marthie,  I  haven't 
time  to  wait,  for  by  that  time  mamma  may  be  gone,  and 
I  shall  never  know  where  to  find  her;  I  must  know 
now.  And  you,  who  are  so  very  wise,  you  will  tell  me 
what  I  can  do  to  save  my  mamma.  Couldn't  I  do 
something  for  God,  Marthie — something  that  he  would 
like  ?  And  then,  perhaps,  he  would  allow  mamma  to 
stay  with  us  always." 

The  tears  now  came  hot  and  fast,  but  the  boy  still 
stood  erect,  and  gazed  with  anxious  questioning  into  the 
old  woman's  face. 

"You  are  a  brave  little  lad,"  she  said,  stroking  his 
soft,  curly  hair  with  her  stiff,  crooked  fingers,  "and 
happy  is  the  mother  of  such  a  boy.  And  old  Marthie 
knows  a  thing  or  two,  she  also,  and  you  shall  not  have 
come  to  her  in  vain.  Once,  child,  more  than  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago,  just  on  this  very  night,  a  strange 
thing  happened  in  this  world,  and  I  dare  say  you  have 
heard  of  it.  Christ,  the  White,  was  born  of  Mary  in  the 
land  of  the  Jews.  The  angels  came  down  from  heaven, 
as  we  read  in  the  Good  Book,  and  they  sang  strange 
and  wonderful  songs  of  praise.  And  they  scattered 
flowers,  too — flowers  which  only  blossomed  until  then  in 


THORWALD  AND   THE   STAR-CHILDREN.  135 

heaven,  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  one  of  these  flowers, 
— sweet  and  pure,  like  the  tone  of  an  angel's  voice  ex- 
pressed in  color — one  of  these  wondrous  flowers,  I  say, 
struck  root  in  the  soil,  and  has  multiplied,  and  remains 
in  the  world  until  this  day.  It  blossoms  only  on  Christ 
mas-eve — on  the  eve  when  Christ  was  born.  Even  in 
the  midst  of  the  snow,  and  when  it  is  so  cold  that  the 
wolf  shivers  in  his  den,  this  frail,  pure  flower  peeps  up 
for  a  few  brief  moments  above  the  shining  white  surface, 
and  then  is  not  seen  again.  It  is  of  a  white  or  faintly 
bluish  color ;  and  he  who  touches  it  and  inhales  its 
heavenly  odor  is  immediately  healed  of  every  earthly  dis- 
ease. But  there  is  one  singular  thing  about  it — no  one 
can  see  it  unless  he  be  pure  and  innocent  and  good ;  to 
all  others  the  heavenly  flower  is  invisible." 

"Oh,  then  I  shall  never  find  it,  Marthie!"  cried 
Thorwald,  in  great  suspense.  "  For  I  have  often  been 
very  naughty." 

"  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  that,"  said  Marthie,  and 
shook  her  head. 

"  And  do  you  think  it  is  of  any  use  for  me,  then,  to 
try  to  find  the  flower  ? "  exclaimed  the  boy,  wildly. 
"  O  Marthie,  help  me !  Help  me  !  " 

"Well,  I  think  I  should  try,"  said  Marthie,  calmly. 
"  I  don't  believe  you  can  have  been  such  a  dreadfully 
naughty  boy ;  and  you  probably  were  very  sorry  when* 
ever  you  happened  to  do  something  wrong." 

"  Yes,  yes,  always,  and  I  always  begged  papa's  and 
mamma's  pardon." 

"Then,  listen  to  me!     I  will  show  you  the  Star  of 


136  THE  MODERN  VlKIXGS* 

Bethlehem  in  the  sky — the  same  one  that  led  the  shep. 
herds  and  the  kings  of  the  East  to  the  manger  where 
Christ  lay.  Follow  that  straight  on,  through  the  forest, 
across  the  frozen  river,  wherever  it  may  lead  you,  until 
you  find  the  heavenly  flower.  And  when  you  have 
found  it,  hasten  home  to  your  mother,  and  put  it  up  to 
her  lips  so  that  she  may  inhale  its  breath  ;  then  she  will 
be  healed,  and  will  bless  her  little  boy,  who  shunned  no 
sacrifice  for  her  sake." 

"But  I  didn't  tell  you,  Marthie,  that  I  made  Grim 
Hcring-Luck  tattoo  a  ship  on  my  right  arm,  although 
papa  had  told  me  that  I  mustn't  do  it.  Do  you  still 
think  I  shall  find  the  heavenly  flower  ?  " 

"I  shouldn't  wonder  if  you  did,  child,"  responded 
Marthie,  with  a  reassuring  nod  of  her  head.  "  It  is 
high  time  for  you  to  start,  now,  and  you  mustn't  loiter 
by  the  way." 

44  No,  no ;  you  need  not  tell  me  that ! "  cried  the  boy, 
seizing  his  cap  eagerly,  and  slipping  out  through  the 
lower  panel  of  the  door.  He  jumped  into  the  bands  of 
his  skees,  and  cast  his  glance  up  to  the  vast  nocturnal 
sky,  which  glittered  with  myriads  of  twinkling  stars. 
Which  of  all  these  was  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  ?  He  was 
just  about  to  rush  back  into  the  cottage,  when  he  felt  a 
hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and  saw  Wise  Marthie's  kindly 
but  withered  face  close  to  his, 

"Look  toward  the  east,  child,"  she  said,  almost 
solemnly. 

"  I  don't  know  where  the  east  is,  Marthie,"  said  Thor- 
wald,  dolefully.  "  I  always  get  mixed  up  about  the 


THORWALD   AND   THE   STAR-CHILDREN.  137 

points  of  the  compass.  If  they  would  only  fix  four  big 
poles,  one  in  each  corner  of  the  earth,  that  everybody 
could  see,  then  I  should  always  know  where  to  turn." 

"  There  is  the  east,"  said  Marthie,  pointing  with  a 
long,  crooked  finger  toward  the  distant  mountain-tops, 
which,  with  their  hoods  of  ice,  flashed  and  glistened  in 
the  moonlight.  "  Do  you  see  that  bright,  silvery  star 
which  is  just  rising  between  those  two  snowy  peaks  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  Marthie.     I  see  it !     I  see  it ! " 

"  That  is  the  Star  of  Bethlehem.  You  will  know  it  by 
its  white,  radiant  light.  Follow  that,  and  its  rays  will 
lead  you  to  the  flower  which  can  conquer  Death,  as  it 
led  the  shepherds  and  the  kings  of  old  to  Him  over 
whom  Death  had  no  power." 

"  Thank  you,  Marthie.     Thank  you  ! " 

The  second  "  thank  you  "  hardly  reached  the  ears  of 
the  old  woman,  for  the  boy  had  shot  like  an  arrow  down 
over  the  steep  bank,  and  was  now  half-way  out  upon  the 
ice.  The  snow  surged  and  danced  in  eddies  behind 
him,  and  the  cold  stung  his  face  like  sharp,  tiny  needles. 
But  he  hardly  minded  it,  for  he  saw  the  star  of  Bethle- 
hem beaming  large  and  radiant  upon  the  blue  horizon, 
and  he  thought  of  his  dear  mother,  whom  he  was  to 
rescue  from  the  hands  of  Death.  But  the  flower — the 
flower — where  was  that  ?  He  searched  carefully  all 
about  him  in  the  snow,  but  he  saw  no  trace  of  it.  "  I 
wonder,"  he  thought,  "  if  it  can  blossom  in  the  snow  ? 
I  should  rather  think  that  Christ  allows  the  angels  to 
fling  down  a  few  of  them  every  year  on  his  birthday,  to 
help  those  that  are  sick  and  suffering ;  they  say  he  is 


138  THE  MODERN-  VIKINGS* 

very  kind  and  good,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  sees 
me  now,  and  will  tell  the  angels  to  throw  down  the 
precious  flower  right  in  my  path." 

IL 

The  world  was  cold  and  white  round  about  him. 
The  tall  pines  stood  wrapped  in  cloaks  of  snow,  which 
looked  like  great  white  ulsters,  and  they  were  buttoned 
straight  up  to  the  chin — only  a  green  finger-tip  and  a 
few  tufts  of  dark-green  hair  showed  faintly,  at  the  end  of 
the  sleeves  and  above  the  collar.  The  alders  and  the 
birches,  who  had  no  such  comfortable  coats  to  keep  out 
the  cold,  stood  naked  in  the  keen  light  of  the  stars  and 
the  aurora,  and  they  shivered  to  the  very  marrow.  To 
Thorwald  it  seemed  as  if  they  were  stretching  their  bare, 
lean  hands  against  the  heavens,  praying  for  warmer 
weather.  A  family  of  cedar-birds,  who  had  lovely  red 
caps  on  their  heads  and  gray  uniforms  of  the  most  fash- 
ionable tint,  had  snugged  close  together  on  a  sheltered 
pine-branch,  and  they  were  carrying  on  a  subdued  twit- 
tering conversation  just  as  Thorwald  passed  the  river- 
bank,  pushing  himself  rapidly  over  the  snow  by  means  of 
his  skee-stafL  But  it  was  strictly  a  family  matter  they 
were  discussing,  which  it  would  be  indiscreet  in  me  to 
divulge.  They  did,  however,  shake  down  a  handful  of 
loose  snow  on  Thorwald's  head,  just  to  let  him  know 
that  he  was  very  impolite  to  take  so  little  notice  of  them. 
They  did  not  know,  of  course,  that  his  mother  was  ill ; 
otherwise,  I  am  sure,  they  would  have  forgiven  him. 


THORWALD  AND   THE   STAR-CHILDREN.  139 

Hush  !  What  was  that  ?  Thorwald  thought  he  heard 
distant  voices  behind  him  in  the  snow.  He  looked  all 
about  him,  but  saw  nothing.  Then,  following  the  guid- 
ance of  the  star,  he  still  pressed  onward.  He  quitted 
the  river-bed  and  traversed  a  wide  sloping  meadow;  he 
had  to  take  a  zigzag  course,  like  a  ship  that  is  tacking, 
because  the  slope  was  too  steep  to  ascend  in  a  straight 
line.  He  was  beginning  to  feel  tired.  The  muscles  in 
his  legs  ached,  and  he  often  shifted  the  staff  from  hand 
to  hand,  in  order  to  rest  the  one  or  the  other  of  his 
arms.  He  gazed  now  fixedly  upon  the  snow,  taking 
only  an  occasional  glance  at  the  sky,  to  see  that  he  was 
going  in  the  right  direction ;  the  strange  hum  of  voices 
in  the  air  yet  haunted  his  ears,  and  he  sometimes  im- 
agined he  heard  words  moving  to  a  wonderful  melody. 
Was  it  the  angels  that  were  singing,  inspiring  him  with 
courage  for  his  quest  ?  He  dared  hardly  believe  it,  and 
yet  his  heart  beat  joyously  at  the  thought.  Ah  !  what  is 
that  which  glitters  so  strangely  in  the  snow  ?  A  starry 
gleam,  a  twinkling,  like  a  spark  gathering  its  light  into  a 
little  glittering  point,  just  as  it  is  about  to  be  quenched. 
Thorwald  leaps  from  his  skees  and  plunges  his  hand  into 
the  snow.  The  frozen  crust  cuts  his  wrist  cruelly  ;  and 
he  feels  that  he  is  bleeding.  With  a  wrench  he  pulls  his 
hand  up  ;  his  heart  throbs  in  his  throat ;  he  gazes  with 
wild  expectation,  but  sees — nothing.  His  wrist  is  bleed- 
ing, and  his  hand  is  full  of  blood.  Poor  Thorwald  could 
hardly  trust  his  eyes.  He  certainly  had  seen  something 
glittering  on  the  snow.  He  felt  a  great  lump  in  his 
throat,  and  it  would  have  been  a  great  relief  to  him,  at 


140  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

that  moment,  to  sit  down  and  give  vent  to  the  tears  that 
were  crowding  to  his  eyelids.  But  just  then  a  clear, 
sweet  strain  of  music  broke  through  the  air,  and  Thor- 
wald  heard  distinctly  these  words,  sung  by  voices  of 
children : 

"  Lead,  O  Star  of  Bethlehem, 

Me  through  death  and  danger, 
Unto  Christ,  who  on  this  night 
Lay  cradled  in  a  manger." 

Thorwald  gathered  all  his  strength  and  again  leaped 
into  his  skees ;  he  was  now  on  the  border  of  a  dense 
pine-forest,  and  as  he  looked  into  it,  he  could  not  help 
shuddering.  It  was  so  dark  under  the  thick,  snow-bur- 
dened branches,  and  the  moon  only  broke  through  here 
and  there,  and  scattered  patches  of  light  over  the  tree- 
tops  and  on  the  white  carpet  of  the  snow.  Yet,  per- 
haps it  was  within  this  very  wood  that  the  heavenly 
blossom  had  fallen.  He  must  not  lose  heart  now,  when 
he  was  perhaps  so  near  his  goal.  Thrusting  his  staff 
vigorously  into  the  snow-crust,  he  pushed  himself  for- 
ward and  glided  in  between  the  tall,  silent  trunks ;  at 
the  same  moment  the  air  again  quivered  lightly,  as 
with  the  breath  of  invisible  beings,  and  he  heard  words 
which,  as  far  as  he  could  afterward  recollect  them, 
sounded  as  follows : 

"  Make  my  soul  as  white  and  pure 

As  the  heavenly  blossom — 
As  the  flower  of  grace  and  truth 
That  blooms  upon  Thy  bosom." 


THORWALD  AND   THE   STAR-CPU LDREN*.  141 

Thorwald  hardly  felt  the  touch  of  the  snow  beneath  his 
feet ;  he  seemed  rather  to  be  soaring  through  the  air,  and 
the  trunks  of  the  huge  dark  trees  marched  in  close  col- 
umns, like  an  army  in  rapid  retreat,  before  his  enraptured 
vision.  Christ  did  see  him  !  Christ  would  send  him  the 
heavenly  flower !  All  over  the  snow  sparkling  stars  were 
scattered,  and  they  gleamed  and  twinkled  and  beckoned 
to  him,  but  whenever  he  stretched  out  his  hand  for  them 
they  suddenly  vanished.  The  trees  began  to  assume 
strange,  wild  shapes,  and  to  resemble  old  men  and 
women,  with  long  beards  and  large  hooked  noses.  They 
nodded  knowingly  to  one  another,  and  raised  up  their 
gnarled  toes  from  the  ground  in  which  they  were  rooted, 
and  tried  to  trip  up  the  little  boy  who  had  dared  to  in- 
terrupt their  solemn  conversation.  One  old  fir  shook 
the  snow  from  her  shoulders,  and  stretched  out  a  long, 
strangely  twisted  arm,  and  was  on  the  point  of  seizing 
TKorwald  by  the  hair,  when  fortunately  he  saw  the 
coming  danger,  and  darted  away  down  the  hill-side 
at  quickened  speed.  A  long,  bright  streak  of  light 
suddenly  illuminated  the  eastern  sky,  something  fell 
through  the  air,  and  left  a  golden  trail  of  fire  behind 
it ;  surely  it  was  the  heavenly  flower  that  was  thrown 
down  by  an  angel  in  response  to  his  prayer  !  Forward 
and  ever  forward — over  roots  and  stumps  and  stones — 
stumbling,  rising  again,  sinking  from  weariness  and  ex- 
haustion, kneeling  to  pray  on  the  frozen  snow,  crawling 
painfully  back  and  tottering  into  the  skee-bands ;  but 
only  forward,  ever  forward  !  The  earth  rolls  with  a 
surging  motion  under  his  feet,  the  old  trees  join  their 


t42  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

rugged  hands  and  dance,  in  wild,  senile  glee,  around 
him,  lifting  their  twisted  limbs,  and  sometimes,  with 
their  talons,  trying  to  sweep  the  stars  from  the  sky. 
Thorwald  struggled  with  all  his  force  to  break  through 
the  ring  they  had  made  around  him.  He  saw  plainly 
the  flower,  beaming  with  a  pale  radiance  upon  the  snow, 
and  he  strove  with  all  his  might  to  reach  it,  but  some- 
thing held  him  back,  and  though  he  was  once  or  twice 
within  an  inch  of  it,  he  could  never  quite  grasp  it  with 
his  fingers.  Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  strange  song 
again  vibrated  through  the  air,  and  he  saw  a  huge  star 
glittering  among  the  underbrush  ;  a  flock  of  children  clad 
in  white  robes  were  dancing  about  it,  and  they  were  sing- 
ing Christmas  carols  in  praise  of  the  new-born  Saviour. 
As  they  approached  nearer  and  nearer,  the  hope  revived 
in  Thorwald's  heart.  Ah,  there  the  flower  of  healing 
was,  lying  close  at  his  feet.  He  made  a  desperate  leap 
and  clutched  it  in  his  grasp — then  saw  and  felt  no  more. 

III. 

The  white  children  were  children  of  earth,  not,  as 
Thorwald  had  imagined,  angels  from  heaven.  It  is  a 
custom  in  Norway  for  the  children  of  the  poor  to  go 
about  on  Christmas  eve,  from  house  to  house,  carrying  a 
large  canvas  star,  with  one  or  more  lanterns  within  it, 
and  sing  Christmas  carols.  They  are  always  dressed  in 
white  robes,  and  people  call  them  star-children.  When- 
ever they  station  themselves  in  the  snow  before  the  front 
door,  and  lift  up  their  tiny,  shrill  voices,  old  and  young 


THORWALD  AND   THE   STAR-CHILDREN.  143 

crowd  to  the  windows,  and  the  little  boys  and  girls  who 
are  born  to  comfort  and  plenty,  and  never  have  known 
want,  throw  pennies  to  them,  and  wish  them  a  merry 
Christmas.  When  they  have  finished  singing,  they  are 
invited  in  to  share  in  the  mirth  of  the  children  of  the 
house,  and  are  made  to  sit  down  with  them  to  the  Christ- 
mas table,  and  perhaps  to  dance  with  them  around  the 
Christmas  tree. 

It  was  a  company  of  these  star-children  who  now 
found  Thorwald  lying  senseless  in  the  forest,  and  whose 
sweet  voices  he  had  heard  in  the  distance.  The  oldest 
of  them,  a  boy  of  twelve,  hung  up  his  star  on  the  branch 
of  a  fir-tree,  and  stooped  down  over  the  pale  little  face, 
which,  from  the  force  of  the  fall,  was  half  buried  in  the 
snow.  He  lifted  Thorwald's  head  and  gazed  anxiously 
into  his  features,  while  the  others  stood  in  a  ring  about 
him,  staring  with  wide-open  eyes  and  frightened  faces. 

"  This  is  Thorwald,  the  judge's  son,"  he  said.  "  Come, 
boys,  we  must  carry  him  home.  He  must  have  been 
taken  ill  while  he  was  running  on  skees.  But  let  us  first 
make  a  litter  of  branches  to  carry  him  on." 

The  boys  all  fell  to  work  with  a  will,  cutting  flexible 
twigs  with  their  pocket-knives,  and  the  little  girls  sat 
down  on  the  snow  and  twined  them  firmly  together,  for 
they  were  used  to  work,  and,  indeed,  some  of  them  made 
their  living  by  weaving  baskets.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
litter  was  ready,  and  Thorwald,  who  was  still  uncon- 
scious, was  laid  upon  it.  Then  six  boys  took  hold,  one 
at  each  corner  and  two  in  the  middle,  and  as  the  crust 
of  the  snow  was  very  thick,  and  strong  enough  to  beat 


144  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

them,  it  was  only  once  or  twice  that  any  of  them  broke 
through.  When  they  reached  the  river,  however,  they 
were  very  tired,  and  were  obliged  for  a  while  to  halt. 
Some  one  proposed  that  they  should  sing  as  they  walked, 
as  that  would  make  the  time  pass  more  quickly,  and 
make  their  burden  seem  lighter,  and  immediately  some 
one  began  a  beautiful  Christmas  carol,  and  all  the  others 
joined  in  with  one  accord.  It  was  a  pretty  sight  to  see 
them  as  they  went  marching  across  the  river,  one  small 
boy  of  six  walking  at  the  head  of  the  procession,  carry- 
ing the  great  star,  then  the  six  larger  boys  carrying  the 
litter,  and  at  last  twelve  little  white-robed  girls,  tripping 
two  abreast  over  the  shining  surface  of  the  ice.  But,  in 
spite  of  their  singing,  they  were  very  tired  by  the  time 
they  had  gained  the  highway  on  the  other  side  of  nhe 
river.  They  did  not  like  to  confess  it ;  but  when  they 
saw  the  light  from  Wise  Marthie's  windows,  the  oldest 
boy  proposed  that  they  should  stop  there  for  a  few  min- 
utes to  rest,  and  the  other  five  said,  in  a  careless  sort  of 
way,  that  they  had  no  objection.  Only  the  girls  were  a 
wee  bit  frightened,  because  they  had  heard  that  Wise 
Marthie  was  a  witch.  The  boys,  however,  laughed  at 
that,  and  the  little  fellow  with  the  star  ran  forward  and 
knocked  at  the  door,  with  Thorwald's  skee-staff. 

"  Lord  ha'  mercy  on  us  !  "  cried  Marthie,  as  she  opened 
the  peeping-hole  in  her  door,  and  saw  the  insensible  form 
which  the  boys  bore  between  them  ;  then  flinging  open 
both  portions  of  the  door,  she  rushed  out,  snatched  Thor^ 
wald  up  in  her  arms,  and  carried  him  into  the  cottage. 

"  Come  in,  children,"  she  said,  "  come  in  and  warm 


THORWALD  AND   THE   STAR-CHILDREN.  145 

yourselves  for  a  moment.  Then  hurry  up  to  the  judge's, 
and  tell  the  folk  there  that  the  little  lad  is  here  at  my 
cottage.  You  will  not  go  away  empty-handed ;  for  the 
judge  is  a  man  who  pays  for  more  than  he  gets.  And 
this  boy,  you  know,  is  the  apple  of  his  eye.  Lord  ! 
Lord !  I  sent  his  dog,  Hector,  after  him,  and  I  knew  the 
beast  would  let  me  know  if  the  boy  came  to  harm  ;  but, 
likely  as  not,  the  wind  was  the  wrong  way,  and  the  poor 
beast  could  not  trace  the  skee-track  on  the  frozen  snow. 
Mercy!  mercy !  and  he  is  in  a  dead  swoon/1 

IV. 

When  Thorwald  waked  up,  he  lay  in  his  bed,  in  his  own 
room,  and  in  his  hand  he  held  a  pale-blue  flower.  He 
saw  the  doctor  standing  at  his  bedside. 

"  Mamma — my  mamma,"  he  whispered. 

"  Yes,  it  is  time  that  we  should  go  to  your  mamma," 
said  the  doctor,  and  his  voice  shook. 

And  he  took  the  boy  by  the  hand  and  led  him  to  his 
mother's  bed-chamber.  Thorwald  began  to  tremble — a 
terrible  dread  had  come  over  him  ;  but  he  clutched  the 
flower  convulsively,  and  prayed  that  he  might  not  come 
too  late.  A  dim,  shaded  lamp  burned  in  a  corner  of  the 
room,  his  father  was  sitting  on  a  chair,  resting  his  head 
in  his  palms,  and  weeping.  To  his  astonishment,  he  saw 
an  old  woman  stooping  over  the  pillow  where  his  moth* 
er's  head  lay ;  it  was  Wise  Marthie.  Unable  to  contain 
himself  any  longer,  he  rushed,  breathless  with  excite- 
ment, up  to  the  bedside. 
m 


146  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

"  Mamma  !  Mamma  !  "  he  cried,  flourishing  his  prize 
in  the  air.  "  I  am  going  to  make  you  well.  Look 
here!" 

He  thrust  the  flower  eagerly  into  her  face,  gazing  all 
the  while  exultantly  into  her  beloved  features. 

"  My  sweet,  my  darling  child,"  whispered  she,  while 
her  eyes  kindled  with  a  heavenly  joy.  "  How  can  a 
mother  die  who  has  such  a  noble  son  ?  " 

And  she  clasped  her  little  boy  in  her  arms,  and  drew 
him  close  to  her  bosom.  Thus  they  lay  long,  weeping  for 
joy — mother  and  son.  An  hour  later  the  doctor  stole 
on  tiptoe  toward  the  bed,  and  found  them  both  sleeping. 

When  the  morrow's  sun  peeped  in  through  the  white 
curtains,  the  mother  awoke  from  her  long,  health-giving 
slumber;  but  Thorwald  lay  yet  peacefully  sleeping  at  her 
side.  And  as  the  mother's  glance  fell  upon  the  flower,  now 
limp  and  withered,  yet  clutched  tightly  in  the  little  grimy, 
scratched  and  frost-bitten  fist,  the  tears — happy  tears — 
again  blinded  her  eyes.  She  stretched  out  her  hand, 
took  the  withered  flower,  pressed  it  to  her  lips,  and  then 
hid  it  next  to  her  heart.  And  there  she  wears  it  in  a 
locket  of  gold  until  this  day. 


BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS. 


ON  the  northwestern  coast  of  Norway  the  mountains 
hide  their  heads  in  the  clouds  and  dip  their  feet  in  the 
sea.  In  fact,  the  cliffs  are  in  some  places  so  tall  and 
steep  that  streams,  flowing  from  the  inland  glaciers  and 
plunging  over  their  sides,  vanish  in  the  air,  being  blown 
in  a  misty  spray  out  over  the  ocean.  In  other  places 
there  may  be  a  narrow  slope,  where  a  few  potatoes,  some 
garden  vegetables,  and  perhaps  even  a  patch  of  wheat, 
may  be  induced  to  grow  by  dint  of  much  coaxing ;  for 
the  summer,  though  short,  is  mild  and  genial  in  those 
high  latitudes,  and  has  none  of  that  fierce  intensity  which, 
with  us,  forces  the  vegetation  into  sudden  maturity,  and 
sends  our  people  flying  toward  all  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass during  the  first  weeks  in  June. 

It  was  on  such  a  sunny  little  slope,  right  under  the 
black  mountain-wall,  that  Halvor  Myrbraaten  had  built 
his  cottage.  Halvor  was  a  merry  fellow,  who  went  about 
humming  snatches  of  hymns  and  old  songs  and  dance- 
melodies  all  day  long,  and  sometimes  mixed  up  both 
words  and  tune  wofully ;  and  when  his  memory  failed 


148  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

him,  sang  anything  that  popped  into  his  head.  Some  peo- 
ple said  they  had  heard  him  humming  the  multiplication 
table  to  the  tune  of  "  Old  Norway's  Lion,"  and  whole 
pages  out  of  Luther's  Catechism  to  jolly  dance-tunes. 
Not  that  he  ever  meant  to  be  irreverent ;  it  was  just  his 
way  of  amusing  himself.  He  was  an  odd  stick,  people 
thought,  and  not  of  much  use  to  his  family.  Whatever 
he  did,  "luck "went  against  him.  But  it  affected  his 
temper  very  little.  Halvor  was  still  light-hearted  and 
good-natured,  and  went  about  humming  as  usual. 
If  he  went  out  hunting,  and  came  home  with  an 
empty  pouch,  it  did  not  interfere  in  the  least  with  his 
gayety ;  but  knowing  well  the  reception  which  was  in 
store  for  him,  it  did  occasionally  happen  that  he  paused 
with  a  quizzical  look  before  opening  the  door,  and  per- 
haps, after  a  minute's  reflection,  concluded  to  spend  the 
night  in  the  barn ;  for  Turid,  his  wife,  had  a  mind  of  her 
own,  and  knew  how  to  express  herself  with  emphasis. 
She  was,  as  everyone  admitted,  a  very  worthy  and  com- 
petent woman,  and  accomplished  more  in  a  day  than  her 
husband  did  in  a  fortnight.  But  worthy  and  competent 
people  are  not  invariably  the  pleasantest  people  to  asso- 
ciate with,  and  the  gay  and  genial  good-for-nothing  Hal- 
vor, with  his  bright  irresponsible  smile  and  his  pleasant 
ways,  was  a  far  more  popular  person  in  the  parish  than 
his  austere,  estimable,  over-worked  wife.  For  one  thing, 
with  all  her  poverty,  she  had  a  great  deal  of  pride ;  and 
people  who  had  never  suspected  that  one  so  poor  could 
have  any  objection  to  receiving  alms  had  been  much 
offended  by  her  curt  way  of  refusing  their  proffered  gifts* 


BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS.  149 

Halvor,  they  said,  showed  a  more  realizing  sense  of  his 
position  :  he  had  the  humble  and  contrite  heart  which 
was  becoming  in  an  unsuccessful  man,  and  accepted  with 
equal  cheerfulness  and  gratitude  whatever  was  offered 
him,  from  a  dollar  bill  to  a  pair  of  worn-out  mittens.  It 
was,  in  fact,  this  extreme  readiness  to  accept  things  which 
first  made  difficulty  between  Halvor  and  his  wife.  It 
seemed  to  him  a  pure  waste  of  labor  to  work  for  a  thing 
which  he  could  get  for  nothing ;  and  it  seemed  to  her  a 
waste  of  something  still  more  precious  to  accept  as  a  gift 
what  one  might  have  honestly  earned  by  work.  But  as 
she  could  never  hope  to  have  Halvor  agree  with  her  on 
this  point,  she  comforted  herself  by  impressing  her  own 
horror  of  alms-taking  upon  her  children ;  and  the  children, 
in  their  turn,  impressed  the  same  sound  principles  upon 
their  pet  kid  and  the  pussy  cat. 

There  were  five  children  at  Myrbraaten.  Hans,  the 
eldest,  was  ten  years  old,  and  Dolly,  the  youngest,  was 
one,  and  the  rest  were  scattered  between.  It  was  a  pretty 
sight  to  see  them  of  a  summer  afternoon  on  the  grass 
plot  before  the  house,  rolling  over  one  another  and  gam- 
bolling like  a  sportive  family  of  kittens ;  only  you  could 
hardly  help  feeling  vaguely  uneasy  about  the  mountain, 
the  steep,  black  wall  of  which,  sparsely  clad  with  pines, 
rose  so  threateningly  above  them.  It  seemed  as  if  it 
must,  some  day,  swoop  down  upon  them  and  crush  them. 
The  mother,  it  must  be  admitted,  was  occasionally  op- 
pressed by  some  such  fear ;  but  when  she  reflected  that 
the  mountain  had  stood  there  from  time  immemorial, 
and  had  never  yet  moved,  or  harmed  anyone,  she  felt 


i5o  THE    MODERN  VIKINGS. 

ashamed  of  her  apprehension,  and  blamed  herself  for  her 
distrust  of  God's  providence. 

Besides  the  children  there  was  another  young  inhabi- 
tant of  the  Myrbraaten  cottage,  and  surely  a  very  impor- 
tant one.  He  too,  was  named  Hans,  but,  in  order  to  dis* 
tinguish  him  from  the  son  of  the  house,  the  word  "  Little' 
was  prefixed,  and  the  latter,  although  he  was  really  the 
smaller  of  the  two,  was  called,  by  way  of  distinction,  Big 
Hans,  The  most  remarkable  thing  about  Little  Hans 
was  that  he  had,  in  spite  of  his  youth,  a  very  well-devel- 
oped beard.  Big  Hans,  who  had  not  a  hair  on  his  chin, 
rather  envied  him  this  manly  ornament.  Then,  again, 
Little  Hans  was  a  capital  fighter,  and  could  knock  you 
down  in  one  round  with  great  coolness  and  sweet-tem- 
pered seriousness,  as  if  he  were  acting  entirely  from  a 
sense  of  duty.  He  never  used  any  hard  words  ;  but  the 
moment  his  adversary  attempted  to  rise,  Little  Hans  qui- 
etly gave  him  another  knock,  and  winked  wickedly  at 
him,  as  if  warning  him  to  lie  still.  He  never  bragged  of 
his  victories,  but  showed  a  modest  self-appreciation  to 
which  very  few  of  his  age  ever  attain.  Big  Hans,  who 
valued  his  friend  and  namesake  above  others,  and  had  a 
hearty  admiration  for  his  many  fine  qualities,  declared 
himself  utterly  unable  to  rival  him  in  combativeness, 
modesty,  and  coolness  of  temper.  For  Big  Hans,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  was  sometimes  given  to  bragging  of  his 
muscle  and  of  his  skill  in  turning  hand-springs  and  stand- 
ing on  his  head,  and  he  could  easily  be  teased  into  a 
furious  temper.  Now,  Little  Hans  could  not  turn  hand- 
springs, nor  could  he  stand  on  his  head ;  but,  though  he 


BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS.  151 

promptly  resented  any  trifling  with  his  dignity,  I  never 
once  knew  him  to  lose  his  temper.  He  never  laughed 
when  anything  struck  him  as  being  funny ;  in  fact,  he 
seemed  to  regard  every  boisterous  exhibition  of  feeling 
as  undignified.  He  only  turned  his  head  away  and 
stood  chewing  a  piece  of  paper  or  a  straw,  with  his  usual 
look  of  comical  gravity  in  his  eye. 

Many  people  wondered  at  the  fast  friendship  which 
bound  Big  Hans  and  Little  Hans  together.  Their  tastes, 
people  said,  were  dissimilar ;  in  temperament,  too,  they 
had  few  points  of  resemblance.  And  yet  they  were  ab- 
solutely inseparable.  Wherever  Big  Hans  went,  Little 
Hans  was  sure  to  follow.  Often  they  were  seen  racing 
along  the  beach  or  climbing  up  the  mountain-side ;  and, 
as  Little  Hans  was  a  capital  hand  (or  ought  I  to  say 
foot  ?)  at  climbing,  Big  Hans  often  had  hard  work  to 
keep  up  with  him.  Sometimes  Little  Hans  would  leap 
up  a  rock  which  was  so  steep  that  it  was  impossible  for 
his  friend  to  climb  it,  and  then  he  would  grin  comically 
down  at  Big  Hans,  who  would  stand  below  calling  tear- 
fully to  his  companion  until  he  descended,  which  usually 
was  very  soon.  For  Little  Hans  was  very  fond  of  Big 
Hans,  and  could  never  bear  to  see  him  cry.  And  that  is 
not  in  the  least  to  be  wondered  at,  as  Big  Hans  had 
saved  him  from  starvation  and  death  when  Little  Hans 
was  really  in  the  sorest  need.  Their  acquaintance  began 
in  the  following  manner:  one  day  when  Big  Hans  was 
up  in  the  mountains  trapping  hares,  he  heard  a  feeble 
voice  in  a  cleft  of  the  rocks  near  by,  and  hurrying  to  the 
spot,  he  found  Little  Hans  wedged  in  between  two  great 


152  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

stones,  and  his  leg  caught  in  so  distressing  a  manner  that 
it  cost  Big  Hans  nearly  an  hour's  work  to  set  it  free. 
Then  he  dressed  the  bruised  foot  with  a  rag  torn  from 
the  lining  of  his  coat,  and  carried  Little  Hans  home  in 
his  arms.  And  as  Little  Hans'  parents  had  never 
claimed  him,  and  he  himself  could  give  no  satisfactory 
account  of  them,  he  had  thenceforth  remained  at  Myr- 
braaten,  where  all  the  children  were  very  fond  of  him. 
Turid,  their  mother,  on  the  other  hand,  had  no  great 
liking  for  him,  especially  after  he  had  devoured  her 
hymn-book  (which  was  her  most  precious  property)  and 
eaten  with  much  appetite  a  piece  of  Dolly's  dress.  For, 
as  I  intimated,  Little  Hans'  tastes  were  very  curious, 
and  nothing  came  amiss  when  he  was  hungry.  He  had 
a  trick  of  pulling  off  Dolly's  stockings  when  she  was  sit- 
ting out  on  the  green,  and  if  he  were  not  discovered  in 
time,  he  was  sure  to  make  his  breakfast  off  of  them.  With 
these  tastes,  you  will  readily  understand,  Big  Hans  could 
have  no  sympathy,  and  the  only  thing  which  could  in- 
duce him  to  forgive  Little  Hans'  eccentricities  was  the 
fact  that  Little  Hans  was  a  goat. 

II. 

In  the  winter  of  187-,  a  great  deal  of  snow  fell  on  the 
northwestern  coast  of  Norway.  The  old  pines  about  the 
Myrbraaten  cottage  were  laden  down  with  it ;  the  chil- 
dren had  to  be  put  to  work  with  snow-shovels  early  in 
the  morning,  in  order  to  hollow  out  a  tunnel  to  the  cow- 
stable  where  the  cow  stood  bellowing  with  hunger.  The 


BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS.  153 

mother,  too,  worked  bravely,  and  sometimes  when  the 
thin  roof  of  snow  caved  in  and  fell  down  upon  them, 
they  laughed  heartily,  and  their  mother  too,  could 
not  help  laughing  because  they  were  so  happy.  Little 
Hans  also  made  a  pretence  of  working,  but  only  suc- 
ceeded in  being  in  everybody's  way,  and  when  the 
cold  snow  drizzled  down  upon  his  nose  he  grinned 
and  made  faces  so  queer  that  the  children  shouted  with 
merriment. 

Day  after  day,  and  week  after  week,  the  snow  con- 
tinued to  descend.  Big  Hans  and  his  friend  sat  at  the 
window  watching  the  large  feathery  flakes,  as  they  whirled 
slowly  and  silently  through  the  air  and  covered  the  earth 
far  and  near  with  a  white  pall.  Soon  there  was  a  scarcity 
of  wood  at  the  Myrbraaten  cottage,  and  Hal vor  was  obliged 
to  get  into  his  skees  and  go  to  the  forest.  Humming 
the  multiplication  table  (so  far  as  he  knew  it)  to  the  tune 
of  a  hymn,  he  pulled  on  his  warmest  jacket,  took  his  axe 
from  its  hiding-place  under  the  eaves,  and  went  in  a 
slanting  line  up  the  mountain-side ;  but  before  he  had 
gone  many  rods  it  struck  him  that  it  was  useless  to 
go  so  far  for  wood,  when  the  whole  mountain-slope  was 
covered  with  pines.  Fresh  pine  would  be  a  little  hard  to 
burn,  to  be  sure,  but  then  pine  was  full  of  pitch  and 
would  burn  anyhow.  He  therefore  took  off  his  skees, 
dug  a  hole  in  the  snow,  and  felled  three  or  four  trees  only 
a  few  hundred  rods  above  the  cottage.  When  his  wife 
heard  the  sound  of  his  axe  so  near  the  house,  she  rushed 
out  and  cried  to  him : 

"  Halvor,  Halvor,  don't   cut    down    the  trees   on   the 


154  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

slope !  They  are  all  that  keep  the  snow  from  coming 
down  upon  us  in  an  avalanche,  and  sweeping  us  into  the 
ocean ! " 

"  Oh,  the  Lord  will  look  out  for  his  own,"  sang  Halvor, 
cheerily. 

"  The  Lord  put  the  pine-trees  there  to  protect  us,"  re- 
plied his  wife. 

But  the  end  was  that,  in  spite  of  his  wife's  protests, 
Halvor  continued  to  fell  the  trees. 

The  heavy  fall  of  snow  was  followed  in  the  course  of 
a  week  by  a  sudden  thaw. 

Strange  creaking  and  groaning  sounds  stole  through 
the  forest.  Sometimes  when  a  large  load  of  snow  fell,  it 
rolled  and  grew  as  it  rolled,  until  it  dashed  against  a 
huge  trunk  and  nearly  broke  it  with  its  weight. 

Then,  one  night,  there  came  down  a  great  load  which 
fell  with  a  dull  thud  and  rolled  down  and  down,  pushing  a 
growing  wall  of  snow  before  it,  until  it  reached  the  clear- 
ing where  Halvor  had  cut  his  wood ;  there,  meeting 
with  no  obstructions,  it  gained  a  tremendous  headway, 
sweeping  all  the  snow  and  the  felled  trunks  with  it,  and 
rushed  down  in  a  great  mass,  carrying  along  stones, 
shrubs,  huge  trees,  and  the  very  soil  itself,  leaving  noth- 
ing but  the  bare  rock  behind  it.  How  terrible  was  the 
sight !  A  smoke-like  cloud  rose  in  the  darkness,  and  a 
sound  as  of  a  thousand  thundering  cataracts  filled  the  night. 
On  it  swept,  onward,  with  a  wild,  resistless  speed  !  At 
the  jutting  rock,  where  the  juniper  stood,  the  avalanche 
divided,  tearing  up  the  old  spruces  and  the  birches  by 
the  roots  and  hurling  them  down,  but  leaving  the  juniper 


BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS.  15$ 

standing  alone  on  its  barren  peak.  It  was  but  a  moment's 
work.  The  avalanche  shot  downward  with  increasec1 
speed — hark ! — a  sharp  shriek,  a  smothered  groan,  then 
a  fierce  hissing  sound  of  waves  that  rose  toward  the  sky 
and  returned  with  a  long  thundering  cannonade  to  the 
strand !  The  night  was  darker  and  the  silence  deeper 
than  before. 

III. 

Where  the  Myrbraaten  cottage  had  stood,  the  bare 
rock  now  stares  black  and  dismal  against  the  sun.  The 
rumor  of  the  calamity  spread  like  wild-fire  through  the 
valley,  and  the  folk  of  the  whole  parish  came  to  gaze 
upon  the  ruin  which  the  avalanche  had  wrought.  All 
that  was  left  of  Myrbraaten  was  the  cow-stable,  where 
the  cow  and  Little  Hans  and  Big  Hans  had  slept.  Little 
Hans  had  been  very  ill-behaved  the  night  before,  so 
Turid  had  sent  him  to  sleep  with  the  cow;  and  Big 
Hans,  who  thought  it  would  be  cruel  to  ask  his  compan- 
ion to  spend  the  night  in  that  dark  stable,  with  only  a 
cow  for  company,  had  gone  with  him  and  slept  with  him 
in  the  hay.  Thus  it  happened  that  Little  Hans  and  Big 
Hans  both  were  saved.  It  was  pitiful  to  see  them  shiv- 
ering in  the  wet  snow.  Big  Hans  was  crying  as  if  his 
heart  would  break ;  and  the  women  who  crowded  about 
him  were  unable  to  comfort  him.  What  should  he,  a 
small  boy  of  ten,  do  alone  in  this  wide  world  ?  His 
father  and  his  mother  and  his  little  brothers  and  sisters 
were  all  gone,  and  there  was  no  one  left  who  cared  for 
him.  Just  then  Little  Hans,  who  was  anxious  to  express 


156  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

his  sympathy,  put  his  nose  close  to  Big  Hans'  face  and 
rubbed  it  against  his  cheek. 

"Yes,  you  are  right,  Little  Hans,"  sobbed  the  boy, 
embracing  his  faithful  friend ;  "  you  do  care  for  me. 
You  are  the  only  one  I  have  left  now,  in  all  the  world. 
You  and  I  will  stand  by  each  other  always." 

Little  Hans  then  said,  "  Ma-a-a,"  which  in  his  lan- 
guage meant,  "  Yes." 

The  question  soon  arose  in  the  parish — what  was  to 
be  done  with  Big  Hans  ?  He  had  no  relatives  except  a 
brother  of  his  mother,  who  had  emigrated  many  years 
before  to  Minnesota;  and  there  was  no  one  else  who 
seemed  disposed  to  assume  the  burden  of  his  support. 
It  was  finally  decided  that  he  should  be  hired  out  as  a 
pauper  to  the  lowest  bidder,  and  that  the  parish  should 
pay  for  his  board.  But  when  the  people  who  bid  for 
him  refused  to  take  Little  Hans  too,  the  boy  deter- 
mined, after  some  altercation  with  the  authorities,  to 
seek  his  uncle  in  America.  One  thing  he  was  sure  of, 
and  that  was  that  he  would  not  part  from  Little  Hans. 
But  there  was  no  one  in  the  parish  who  would  board 
Little  Hans  without  extra  pay.  Accordingly,  the  cow 
and  the  barn  were  sold  for  the  boy's  benefit,  and  he  and 
his  comrade  went  on  foot  to  the  city,  where  they  bought 
a  ticket  for  New  York. 

Thus  it  happened  that  Big  Hans  and  Little  Hans  be- 
came Americans.  But  before  they  reached  the  United 
States  some  rather  curious  things  happened  to  them. 
The  captain  of  the  steamship,  Big  Hans  found,  was  not 
willing  to  take  a  goat  as  a  passenger,  and  Big  Hans  was 


BIG   HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS.  157 

forced  to  return  with  his  friend  to  the  pier,  while  the 
other  emigrants  thronged  on  board.  He  was  nearly  at 
his  wits'  end,  when  it  suddenly  occurred  to  him  to  put 
Little  Hans  in  a  bag  and  smuggle  him  on  board  as  bag- 
gage. This  was  a  lucky  thought.  Little  Hans  was 
quite  heavy,  to  be  sure,  but  he  seemed  to  comprehend 
the  situation  perfectly,  and  kept  as  still  as  a  mouse  in 
his  bag  while  Big  Hans,  with  the  assistance  of  a  benevo- 
lent fellow-passenger,  lugged  him  up  the  gang-plank. 
And  when  he  emerged  from  his  retirement  some  time 
after  the  steamer  was  well  under  way,  none  of  the  officers 
even  thought  of  throwing  the  poor  goat  overboard  ;  for 
Little  Hans  became  a  great  favorite  with  both  crew  and 
passengers,  although  he  played  various  mischievous 
pranks,  in  his  quiet,  unostentatious  way,  and  ate  some 
shirts  which  had  been  hung  out  to  dry. 

It  was  early  in  April  when  the  two  friends  arrived  in 
New  York.  They  attracted  considerable  attention  as 
they  walked  up  Broadway  together  ;  and  many  people 
turned  around  to  laugh  at  the  little  emigrant  boy,  in  his 
queer  Norwegian  costume,  who  led  a  full-grown  goat 
after  him  by  a  halter.  The  bootblacks  and  the  newsboys 
pointed  their  fingers  at  them,  and,  when  that  had  no 
effect,  made  faces  at  them,  and  pulled  Big  Hans  by  his 
short  jacket  and  Little  Hans  by  his  short  tail.  Big  Hans 
was  quite  frightened  when  he  saw  how  many  of  them 
there  were,  but,  perceiving  that  Little  Hans  was  not  in 
the  least  ruffled,  he  felt  ashamed  of  himself,  and  took 
heart  again.  Thus  they  marched  on  for  several  blocks, 
while  the  crowd  behind  them  grew  more  and  more  bois* 


158  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

terous  and  importunate.  Suddenly,  one  big  boy,  who 
seemed  to  be  the  leader  of  the  gang,  sprang  forward  with 
a  yell  and  knocked  off  Big  Hans*  hat,  while  all  the  rest 
cheered  loudly  ;  but  just  as  he  was  turning  around  to 
enjoy  his  triumph,  Little  Hans  turned  around  too,  and 
gave  him  a  bump  from  behind  which  sent  him  headlong 
into  the  gutter.  Then,  rising  on  his  hind  legs,  Little 
Hans  leaped  forward  again  and  again,  and  despatched  the 
second  and  third  boy  in  the  same  manner,  whereupon  all 
the  rest  ran  away,  helter-skelter,  scattering  through  the 
side  streets.  It  was  all  done  in  so  quiet  and  gentlemanly 
a  manner  that  not  one  of  the  grown-up  spectators  who 
had  gathered  on  the  sidewalk  thought  of  interfering. 
Big  Hans,  however,  who  had  intended  to  see  something 
of  the  city  before  starting  for  the  West,  was  so  dis- 
couraged at  the  inhospitable  reception  the  United  States 
had  given  him,  that  he  gave  up  his  purpose,  and  returned 
disconsolately  to  Castle  Garden.  There  he  spent  the 
rest  of  the  day,  and  when  the  night  came,  he  went  to 
sleep  on  the  floor,  with  his  little  bundle  under  his  head ; 
while  Little  Hans,  who  did  not  seem  to  be  sleepy,  lay 
down  at  his  side,  quietly  munching  a  piece  of  pie  which 
he  had  stolen  from  somebody's  luncheon-basket. 

Early  the  next  morning  Big  Hans  was  awakened  by  a 
gentle  pulling  at  his  coat-collar ;  and,  looking  up,  he  saw 
that  it  was  Little  Hans.  He  jumped  up  as  quickly  as 
he  could,  and  he  found  that  it  was  high  time,  for  all  the 
emigrants  had  formed  into  a  sort  of  a  procession  and 
were  filing  through  the  gate  on  their  way  to  the  railway 
station.  There  were  some  seven  or  eight  hundred  of 


BIG  HANS  AND   LITTLE   HANS.  1^9 

them — toil-worn,  sad-faced  men  and  women,  and  queer- 
looking  children  in  all  sorts  of  outlandish  costumes.  Big 
Hans  and  his  friend  ran  to  take  their  places  at  the  very 
end  of  the  procession,  and  just  managed  to  slip  through 
the  gate  before  it  was  closed.  At  the  railway  station  the 
boy  exhibited  his  ticket  which  he  had  bought  at  the 
steamship  office  in  Norway,  and  was  just  about  to  board 
the  train,  when  the  conductor  cried  out : 

"  Hold  on,  there !  This  is  not  a  cattle-train  !  You 
can't  take  your  goat  into  the  passenger-car !  " 

Big  Hans  did  not  quite  comprehend  what  was  said,  but 
from  the  expression  of  the  conductor's  voice  and  face,  he 
surmised  that  there  was  some  objection  to  his  comrade. 

"  I  think  I  have  money  enough  to  buy  a  ticket  for 
Little  Hans,  too,"  he  said,  in  his  innocent  Norwegian 
way,  as  he  pulled  a  five-dollar  bill  from  his  pocket. 

"  I  don't  want  your  money,"  cried  the  conductor,  who 
knew  as  little  of  Norwegian  as  Big  Hans  did  of  English. 

"  Get  out  of  the  way  there  with  your  billy-goat ! " 

And  he  hustled  the  boy  roughly  out  of  the  way  to 
make  room  for  the  other  emigrants,  who  were  thronging 
up  to  the  platform. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Big  Hans,  "  since  they  don't  want 
us  on  the  train,  Little  Hans,  we  shall  have  to  walk  to 
Minnesota.  And  as  this  railroad  is  going  that  way,  I 
suppose  we  shall  get  there  if  we  follow  the  track." 

Little  Hans  seemed  to  think  that  this  was  a  good 
plan  ;  for,  as  soon  as  the  train  had  steamed  off,  he  started 
at  a  brisk  rate  along  the  track,  so  that  his  master  had 
great  difficulty  in  keeping  up  with  him.  For  several 


160  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

hours  they  trudged  along  cheerfully,  and  both  were  in 
excellent  spirits.  Minnesota,  Big  Hans  supposed,  might, 
perhaps,  be  a  day's  journey  off,  and  if  he  walked  fast  he 
thought  he  would  probably  be  there  at  nightfall.  When 
once  he  was  there,  he  did  not  doubt  but  that  everybody 
would  know  his  Uncle  Peter.  He  was  somewhat  puz- 
zled, however,  when  he  came  to  a  place  where  no  less 
than  three  railroad  tracks  branched  off  in  different  direc- 
tions ;  and,  as  there  was  no  one  to  ask,  he  sat  down  pa- 
tiently in  the  shade  of  a  tree  and  determined  to  wait. 
Presently  a  man  came  along  with  a  red  flag. 

"  Perhaps  you  would  kindly  tell  me  if  this  is  the  way 
to  Minnesota,"  said  Big  Hans,  taking  off  his  cap  and 
bowing  politely  to  the  man. 

The  man  shook  his  head  sullenly,  but  did  not  answer; 
he  did  not  understand  the  boy's  language. 

"  And  you  don't  happen  to  know  my  uncle,  Peter 
Volden  ?  "  essayed  the  boy,  less  confidently,  making  an- 
other respectful  bow  to  the  flagman. 

"  You  are  a  queer  loon  of  a  chap,"  grumbled  the  man  ; 
"  but  if  you  don't  jump  off  the  track  with  your  goat,  the 
train  will  run  over  both  of  you." 

He  had  hardly  spoken,  when  the  train  was  seen  round- 
ing the  curve,  and  the  boy  had  just  time  to  pull  Little 
Hans  over  into  the  ditch  when  the  locomotive  came 
thundering  along,  sending  out  volumes  of  black  smoke, 
which  scattered  slowly  in  the  warm  air,  making  the  sun- 
light for  awhile  seem  gray  and  dingy.  Big  Hans  was  al- 
most stunned,  but  picked  himself  up,  with  a  little  fainter 
heart  than  before,  perhaps  ;  but  whispering  a  snatch  of  a 


BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE  HANS.  161 

prayer  which  his  mother  had  taught  him,  he  seized  Little 
Hans  by  the  halter,  and  started  once  more  upon  his 
weary  way  after  the  train. 

"  Minnesota  must  be  a  great  way  off,  I  am  afraid,"  he 
said,  addressing  himself,  as  was  his  wont,  to  his  compan- 
ion ;  '•'  but  if  we  keep  on  walking,  it  seems  to  me  we 
must,  in  the  end,  get  there  ;  or,  what  do  you  think,  Little 
Hans?" 

Little  Hans  did  not  choose  to  say  what  he  thought, 
just  then,  for  his  attention  had  been  called  to  some  ten- 
der grass  at  the  roadside  which  he  knew  tasted  very 
sweet.  Big  Hans  was  then  reminded  that  he,  too,  was 
hungry,  and  he  sat  down  on  a  stone  and  ate  a  piece  of 
bread  which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  Castle  Gar- 
den. The  sun  rose  higher  in  the  sky  and  the  heat  grew 
more  and  more  oppressive.  Still  the  emigrant  boy 
trudged  on  patiently.  Whenever  he  came  to  a  station 
he  stopped,  and  read  the  sign,  and  shook  his  head  sadly 
when  he  saw  some  unfamiliar  name. 

"  Not  Minnesota  yet,  Little  Hans,"  he  sighed ;  "  I  am 
afraid  we  shall  have  to  take  lodgings  somewhere  for  the 
night.  I  am  so  footsore  and  tired." 

It  was  then  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  the 
two  friends  had  walked  about  twenty  miles.  At  the 
next  station  they  met  a  hand-organ  man,  who  was  sitting 
on  a  truck,  feeding  his  monkey. 

Big  Hans,  who  had  never  seen  so  funny  an  animal  be- 
fore, was  greatly  delighted.  He  went  close  up  to  the 
man,  and  put  out  his  hand  cautiously  to  touch  the  mon- 
key. 

ii 


162  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

"  Are  you  going  to  Minnesota,  too  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a 
tone  of  great  friendliness  ;  "  if  so,  we  might  bear  each 
other  company.  I  like  that  hairy  little  fellow  of  yours 
very  much." 

The  hand-organ  man,  who,  like  most  men  of  his  Call- 
ing, was  an  Italian,  shook  his  head,  and  the  monkey 
shook  his  head,  too,  as  if  to  say,  "  All  that  may  be  very 
fine,  but  I  don't  understand  it." 

The  boy,  however,  was  too  full  of  delight  to  notice 
whether  he  was  understood  or  not ;  and  when  the  mon- 
key took  off  his  little  red  hat  and  offered  to  shake  hands 
with  him,  he  laughed  until  the  tears  rolled  down  his 
cheeks.  He  seemed  to  have  entirely  forgotten  Little 
Hans,  who  was  standing  by,  glowering  at  the  monkey 
with  a  look  which  was  by  no  means  friendly.  The  fact 
was,  Little  Hans  had  never  been  accustomed  to  any  rival 
in  his  master's  affection,  and  he  didn't  enjoy  in  the  least 
the  latter's  interest  in  the  monkey.  He  kept  his  jeal- 
ousy to  himself,  however,  as  long  as  he  could ;  but  when 
Big  Hans,  after  having  giving  ten  cents  to  the  organ- 
man,  took  the  monkey  on  his  lap  and  patted  and  stroked 
it,  Little  Hans'  heart  was  ready  to  burst.  He  could  not 
endure  seeing  his  affections  so  cruelly  trifled  withc 
Bending  his  head  and  rising  on  his  hind  legs,  he  darted 
forward  and  gave  his  rival  a  knock  on  the  head  that  sent 
him  tumbling  in  a  heap  at  Big  Hans'  feet.  The  Italian 
jumped  up  with  a  terrible  shout  and  seized  his  treasure 
in  his  arms.  The  monkey  made  an  effort  to  open  its 
eyes,  gave  a  little  shiver,  and — was  dead.  The  boy 
stood  staring  in  mute  despair  at  the  tiny  stiffened  body ; 


BIG  HANS  AND  LITTLE   HANS.  163 

he  felt  like  a  murderer.  Hardly  knowing  what  he  did, 
he  seized  Little  Hans'  halter ;  but  in  the  same  moment 
the  enraged  owner  of  the  monkey  rushed  at  the  goat 
with  the  butt  end  of  his  whip  uplifted.  Little  Hans, 
who  was  dauntless  as  ever,  dexterously  dodged  the  blow, 
but  the  instant  his  antagonist  had  turned  to  vent  his 
wrath  upon  his  master,  he  gave  him  an  impetus  from  be- 
hind which  sent  him  headlong  out  upon  the  railroad 
track.  A  crowd  of  men  and  boys  (of  the  class  who  al- 
ways lounge  about  railroad  stations)  had  now  collected 
to  see  the  fight,  and  goaded  both  combatants  on  with 
their  jeering  cries.  The  Italian,  who  was  maddened  with 
anger,  had  just  picked  himself  up,  and  was  plunging  for- 
ward for  a  second  attack  upon  Little  Hans,  when  Big 
Hans,  seeing  the  danger,  flung  himself  over  his  friend's 
back,  clasping  his  arms  about  his  neck.  The  loaded  end 
of  the  whip  struck  Big  Hans  in  the  back  of  the  head ; 
without  a  sound,  the  boy  fell  senseless  upon  the  track. 

Then  a  policeman  arrived,  and  Little  Hans,  the  Ital- 
ian, and  the  insensible  boy  were  taken  to  the  police-sta- 
tion. A  doctor  was  summoned,  and  he  declared  that 
Big  Hans'  wound  was  very  dangerous,  and  that  he  must 
be  taken  to  the  hospital.  And  there  the  emigrant  boy 
lay  for  six  weeks,  hovering  between  life  and  death  ;  but 
when,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  he  was  permitted  to  go 
out,  he  heard  with  dread  that  he  was  to  testify  at  the 
Italian's  trial.  A  Norwegian  interpreter  was  easily 
found,  and  when  Hans  told  his  simple  story  to  the  judge, 
there  were  many  wet  eyes  in  the  court-room.  And  he 
himself  cried,  too,  for  he  thought  that  Little  Hans  was 


164  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

lost.  But  just  as  he  had  finished  his  story,  he  heard  a 
loud  "Ba-a-a"  in  his  ear;  he  jumped  down  from  the 
witness-stand  and  flung  his  arms  about  Little  Hans' 
neck  and  laughed  and  cried  as  if  he  had  lost  his  wits. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  such  a  scene  had  never  before 
been  witnessed  in  an  American  court-room. 

The  next  day  Big  Hans  and  Little  Hans  were  both 
sent  by  rail,  at  the  expense  of  some  kind-hearted  citi- 
zens, to  their  uncle  in  Minnesota.  And  it  was  there  I 
made  their  acquaintance. 


A  NEW  WINTER    SPORT. 

IT  is  a  curious  fact  that  so  useful  an  article  as  the 
Norwegian  skees  has  not  been  more  generally  introduced 
in  the  United  States.  In  some  of  the  Western  States, 
notably  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  where  the  Scan- 
dinavian population  is  large,  the  immigrants  of  Norse 
blood  are  beginning  to  teach  Americans  the  use  of  their 
national  snow-shoes,  and  in  Canada  there  has  been  an 
attempt  made  (with  what  success  I  do  not  know)  to 
make  skee-running  popular.  But  the  subject  has  by  no 
means  received  the  consideration  which  it  deserves,  and 
I  am  confident  that  I  shall  earn  the  gratitude  of  the 
great  army  of  boys  if  I  can  teach  them  how  to  enjoy 
this  fascinating  sport. 

Let  me  first,  then,  describe  a  skee  and  tell  you  how  to 
have  it  made.  You  take  a  piece  of  tough,  straight- 
grained  pine,  from  five  to  ten  feet  long,  and  cut  it  down 
until  it  is  about  the  breadth  of  your  foot,  or,  at  most, 
an  inch  broader.  There  must  be  no  knots  in  the  wood, 
and  the  grain  must  run  with  tolerable  regularity  length- 
wise from  end  to  end. 

If  you  cannot  find  a  piece  without  a  knot,  then  let  the 
knot  be  as  near  the  hind  end  as  possible  ;  but  such  a  sker 


166  THE  MODERN  BIKINGS. 

is  not  perfect,  as  it  is  apt  to  break  if  subjected  to  the 
strain  of  a  "  jump  "  or  a  "  hollow  "  in  a  swift  run.  The 
thickness  of  the  skee  should  be  about  an  inch  or  an  inch 
and  one-half  in  the  middle,  and  it  should  gradually  grow 
thinner  toward  each  end.  Cut  the  forward  end  into  a 
point — not  abruptly,  but  with  a  gradual  curve,  as  shown 
in  the  drawings.  Pierce  the  middle  latitudinally  with 
a  hole,  about  half  an  inch  in  height  and  an  inch  or 
(if  required)  more  in  width ;  then  bend  the  forward 
pointed  end  by  means  of  five  sticks,  placed  as  the  draw- 
ing indicates,  and  let  the  skee  remain  in  this  position  for 

four  or  five  days,  un- 
til its  bend  has  be- 
come permanent,  and 
it  will  no  longer,  on 
the  removal  of  the 
sticks,  resume  the 

Bending"the  skee.  straight  line.    Before 

doing  this,  however, 

it  would  be  well  to  plane  the  under  side  of  the  skee  care- 
fully and  then  polish  and  sand-paper  it,  until  it  is  as 
smooth  as  a  mirror.  It  is,  of  course,  of  prime  importance 
to  diminish  as  much  as  possible  the  friction  in  running  and 
to  make  the  skee  glide  easily  over  the  surface  of  the  snow, 
and  the  Norwegians  use  for  this  purpose  soft-soap,  which 
they  rub  upon  the  under  side  of  the  skee,  and  which,  I 
am  told,  has  also  a  tendency  to  make  the  wood  tougher. 
In  fact,  too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  this  re- 
spect, as  the  excellence  of  the  skees,  when  finished,  de- 
pends primarily  upon  the  combined  toughness  and  light* 


A    NEW  WINTER   SPORT. 


167 


ness  of  the  wood.     Common  pine  will  not  do ;   for  al 
though,  when  well  seasoned,  it  is  light 
enough,  it  is  rarely  strong  enough  to 
bear   the    required    strain.     The   tree 
known  to  Norwegians  as  the  fir  (Sylvestris 
pinus),   which    has   long,  flexible  needles, 
hanging  in  tassels  (not  evenly  distributed 
along  the  branch,  as  in  the  spruce),  is  most 
commonly  used,  as  it  is  tough  and  pitchy, 
but  becomes  light  in  weight,  without  los- 
ing its  strength,  when  it  is  well  seasoned 
and  dried.     Any  other  strong  and  straight- 
grained  wood  might,  perhaps,  be  used,  but 
would,  I  think,  be  liable  to  the  objection 
of  being  too  heavy. 

When  the  skee  has  been  prepared  as 
above  described,  there  only  remains  to  put 
a  double  band  through  the  middle;  the 
Norwegians  make  it  of  twisted  withes,  and 
fit  its  size  to  the  toe  of  the  boot.  If  the 
band  is  too  wide,  so  as  to  reach  up  on  the 
instep,  it  is  impossible  to  steer  the  skee, 
while  if  it  is  too  narrow  the  foot  is  apt  to 
slip  out.  Of  these  two  withe-bands,  one 
should  stand  up  and  the  other  lie  down 
horizontally,  so  as  to  steady  the  foot  and 
prevent  it  from  sliding.  A  little  knob, 
just  in  front  of  the  heel,  might  serve  a 
similar  purpose.  Leather,  or  any  other 
substance  which  is  apt  to  stretch  when  getting  wet,  will 


i68  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

not  do  for  bands,  although  undoubtedly  something 
might  be  contrived  which  might  be  even  preferable  to 
withes.  I  am  only  describing  the  skees  as  they  are 
used  in  Norway — not  as  they  might  be  improved  in 
America.  In  the  West,  I  am  told,  a  good  substitute 
for  the  withe-band  has  been  found  in  a  kind  of  leather 
cap  resembling  the  toe  of  a  boot.  As  I  have  never 
myself  tried  this,  I  dare  not  express  an  opinion  about 
its  practicability ;  but  as  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  runner  should  be  able  to  free  his  foot  easily,  I 
would  advise  every  boy  who  tries  this  cap  to  make  per- 
fectly sure  that  it  does  not  prevent  him  from  ridding 
himself  of  the  skee  at  a  moment's  notice.  The  chief  diffi- 
culty that  the  beginner  has  to  encounter  is  the  tendency 
of  the  skees  to  "  spread,"  and  the  only  thing  for  him  to 
do  in  such  a  case,  provided  he  is  running  too  fast  to 
trust  to  his  ability  to  get  them  parallel  again,  is  to  jump 
out  of  the  bands  and  let  the  skees  go.  Let  him  take  care 
to  throw  himself  backward,  breaking  his  fall  by  means  of 
the  staff,  and  in  the  soft  snow  he  will  sustain  no  injury. 
Whenever  an  accident  occurs  in  skee-running,  it  can  usu- 
ally be  traced  to  undue  tightness  of  the  band,  which  may 
make  it  difficult  to  withdraw  the  feet  instantly.  A  pair 
of  skees  kept  at  the  rooms  of  the  American  Geographical 
Society,  New  York,  are  provided  with  a  safeguard  against 
"spreading"  in  the  shape  of  a  slight  groove  running 
longitudinally  along  the  under  side  of  each  skee.  I  have 
seen  skees  provided  with  two  such  grooves,  each  about  an 
inch  from  the  edge  and  meeting  near  the  forward  point. 
There  has,  of  course,  to  be  one  skee  for  each  foot,  and 


A    NEW   WINTER    SPORT.  169 

the  second  is  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  first.  The  upper 
sides  of  both  are  usually  decorated,  either  in  colors  or 
with  rude  carvings  ;  the  forward  ends  are  usually  painted 
for  about  a  foot,  either  in  black  or  red. 

Now,  the  reader  will  ask :  "  What  advantage  does  this 
kind  of  snow-shoes  offer  over  the  ordinary  Indian  ones, 
which  are  in  common  use  in  the  Western  and  Northern 
States  ?  "  Having  tried  both,  I  think  I  may  confidently 
answer  that  the  skees  are  superior,  both  in  speed  and  con- 
venience ;  and,  moreover,  they  effect  a  great  saving  of 
strength.  The  force  which,  with  the  American  snow 


Staff  with  a  Wheel  that  Acts  as  a  Brake. 

shoes,  is  expended  in  lifting  the  feet,  is  with  the  skees 
applied  only  as  a  propeller,  for  the  skee  glides,  and  is 
never  lifted  ;  and  on  level  ground  the  resistance  of  the 
body  in  motion  impels  the  skee-runner  with  each  for- 
ward stride  several  feet  beyond  the  length  of  his  step. 
If  he  is  going  down-hill,  his  effort  will  naturally  be  to 
diminish  rather  than  to  increase  his  speed,  and  he  carries 
for  this  purpose  a  strong  but  light  staff  about  six  feet 
long,  upon  which  he  may  lean  more  or  less  heavily,  and 
thereby  retard  the  rapidity  of  his  progress.  The  best 
skee-runners,  however,  take  great  pride  in  dispensing 
with  the  staff,  and  one  often  sees  them  in  Norway  rush- 


,70  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

ing  down  the  steepest  hill-sides  with  incredible  speed, 
with  a  whirling  cloud  of  snow  following  in  their  track. 

Although  this  may  be  a 
very  fine  and  inspiriting 
sight,  I  should  not  rec- 
ommend beginners  to  be 
""""" "~~~~ too  hasty  in  throwing 

Side  View,  showing  Foot  in  Position. 

away  the  staff,  as  it  is 

only  by  means  of  it  that  they  are  able  to  guide  their 
course  down  over  the  snowy  slope,  just  as  a  ship  is 
steered  by  its  rudder.  If  you  wish  to  steer  toward  the 
right,  you  press  your  staff  down  into  the  snow  on  your 
right  side,  while  a  similar  manoeuvre  on  your  left  side 
will  bend  your  course  in  that  direction.  If  you  wish  to 
test  your  skees  when  they  are  finished,  put  your  feet  into 
the  bands,  and  let  someone  take  hold  of  the  two  front 
ends  and  slowly  raise  them  while  you  are  standing  in 
the  bands.  If  they  bear  your  weight,  they  are  regarded 
as  safe,  and  will  not  be  likely  to  break  in  critical  mo- 
ments. In  conclusion,  let  me  add  that  the  length  and 
thickness  of  the  skees,  as  here  described,  are  not  invari- 
able, but  must  vary  in  accordance  with  the  size  of  the 
boy  who  wishes  to  ____« 

use  them.      Five  ^ 

feet  is  regarded  as 
the     minimum 

^       '  Under  Side  and  Cross  Section  of  Skee,  showing  Groove 

suit    a    boy    from 

twelve   to   fourteen   years  old,  while  a  grown-up  man 

might  safely  make  them  twice  that  length. 


A    NEW   WINTER   SPORT.  171 

In  Norway,  where  the  woods  are  pathless  in  winter, 
and  where  heavy  snows  continually  fall  from  the  middle 
of  October  until  the  middle  of  April,  it  is  easily  seen 
how  essential,  nay  indispensable,  the  skees  must  be  to 
hunters,  trappers,  and  lumber-men,  who  have  to  depend 
upon  the  forests  for  their  livelihood.  Therefore,  one  of 
the  first  accomplishments  which  the  Norwegian  boy 
learns,  as  soon  as  he  is  old  enough  to  find  his  way 
through  the  parish  alone,  is  the  use  of  these  national 
snow-shoes.  If  he  wakes  up  one  fine  winter  morning 
and  sees  the  huge  snow-banks  blockading  doors  and  win- 
dows, and  a  white,  glittering  surface  extending  for  miles 
as  far  as  his  eye  can  .reach,  he  gives  a  shout  of  delight, 
buttons  his  thick  woollen  jacket  up  to  his  chin,  pulls  the 
fur  borders  of  his  cap  down  over  his  ears,  and  then,  hav- 
ing cleared  a  narrow  path  between  the  dwelling-house 
and  the  cow-stables,  makes  haste  to  jump  into  his  skees. 
If  it  is  cold  (as  it  usually  is)  and  the  snow  accordingly  dry 
and  crisp,  he  knows  that  it  will  be  a  splendid  day  for 
skee-running.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  snow  is  wet  and 
heavy,  it  is  apt  to  stick  in  clots  to  the  skees,  and  then  the 
sport  is  attended  with  difficulties  which  are  apt  to  spoil 
the  amusement.  We  will  take  it  for  granted,  however, 
that  there  are  no  indications  of  a  thaw,  and  we  will  ac- 
company the  Norse  boy  on  his  excursions  over  the 
snowy  fields  and  through  the  dense  pine-woods,  in  which 
he  and  his  father  spend  their  days  in  toil,  not  untem- 
pered  with  pleasure. 

"  Now,  quick,  Ola,  my  lad  !  "  cries  his  father  to  him  ; 
"  fetch  the  axe  from  the  wood-shed  and  bring  me  my  gun 


I72  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

from  the  corner  behind  the  clock,  and  we  will  see  what 
luck  we  have  had  with  the  fox-traps  and  the  snares  up  in 
the  birch-glen." 

And  Ola  has  no  need  of  being  asked  twice  to  attend  to 
such  duties.  His  mother,  in  the  meanwhile,  has  put  up 
a  luncheon,  consisting  of  cold  smoked  ham  and  bread  and 
butter,  in  a  gayly  painted  wooden  box,  which  Ola  slings 
across  his  shoulder,  while  Nils,  his  father,  sticks  the  axe 
into  his  girdle,  and  with  his  gun  in  one  hand  and  his 
skee-staff  in  the  other,  emerges  into  the  bright  winter 
morning.  They  then  climb  up  the  steep  snow-banks, 
place  their  skees  upon  the  level  surface,  and  put  their 
feet  into  the  bands.  Nils  gives  a  tremendous  push  with 
his  staff  and  away  he  flies  down  the  steep  hill-side,  while 
his  little  son,  following  close  behind  him,  gives  an  Indian 
war-whoop,  and  swings  his  staff  about  his  head  to  show 
how  little  he  needs  it.  Whew,  how  fast  he  goes !  How 
the  cold  wind  sings  in  his  ears ;  how  the  snow  whirls 
about  him,  filling  his  eyes  and  ears  and  silvering  the  loose 
locks  about  his  temples,  until  he  looks  like  a  hoary  little 
gnome  who  has  just  stepped  out  from  the  mountain-side  I 
But  he  is  well  used  to  snow  and  cold,  and  he  does  not 
mind  it  a  bit. 

In  a  few  seconds  father  and  son  have  reached  the  bot- 
tom of  the  valley,  and  before  them  is  a  steep  incline, 
overgrown  with  leafless  birch  and  elder  forests.  It  is 
there  where  they  have  their  snares,  made  of  braided 
horse-hair ;  and  as  bait  they  use  the  red  berries  of  the 
mountain  ash,  of  which  ptarmigan  and  thrushes  are  very 
fond.  Now  comes  the  test  of  their  strength ;  but  the 


A    NEW   WINTER   SPORT.  173 

snow  is  too  deep  and  loose  to  wade  through,  and  to  climb 
a  declivity  on  skees  is  by  no  means  as  easy  as  it  is  to  slide 
down  a  smooth  hill-side.  They  now  have  to  plod  along 
slowly,  ascending  in  long  zig-zag  lines,  pausing  often  to 
rest  on  their  staves,  and  to  wipe  the  perspiration  from 
their  foreheads.  Half  an  hour's  climb  brings  them  to  the 
trapping-grounds.  But  there,  indeed,  their  efforts  are 
well  rewarded. 

"  Oh,  look,  look,  father !  "  cries  the  boy,  ecstatically. 
"  Oh,  what  a  lot  we  have  caught !  Why,  there  are  three- 
dozen  birds,  as  sure  as  there  is  one." 

His  father  smiles  contentedly,  but  says  nothing.  He 
is  too  old  a  trapper  to  give  way  to  his  delight. 

"  There  is  enough  to  buy  you  a  new  coat  for  Christmas, 
lad,"  he  says,  chuckling ;  "  and  if  we  make  many  more 
such  hauls,  we  may  get  enough  to  buy  mother  a  silver 
brooch,  too,  to  wear  at  church  on  Sundays." 

"  No,  buy  mother's  brooch  first,  father,"  protests  the 
lad,  a  little  hesitatingly  (for  it  costs  many  boys  an  effort 
to  be  generous) ;  "  my  coat  will  come  along  soon  enough. 
Although,  to  be  sure,  my  old  one  is  pretty  shabby,"  he 
adds,  with  a  regretful  glance  at  his  patched  sleeves. 

"Well,  we  will  see,  we  will  see,"  responds  Nils,  pull- 
ing off  his  bear-skin  mittens  and  gliding  in  among  the 
trees  in  which  the  traps  are  set.  "  The  good  Lord,  who 
looks  after  the  poor  man  as  well  as  the  rich,  may  send  us 
enough  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  us  all." 

He  had  opened  his  hunting-bag,  and  was  loosening  the 
snare  from  the  neck  of  a  poor  strangled  ptarmigan,  when 
all  of  a  sudden  he  heard  a  great  flapping  of  wings,  and, 


»74  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

glancing  down  through  the  long  colonnade  of  frost-sil- 
vered trees,  saw  a  bird  which  had  been  caught  by  the  leg, 
and  was  struggling  desperately  to  escape  from  the  snare. 

"Poor  silly  thing!"  he  said,  half-pityingly ;  "  it  is  not 
worth  a  shot.  Run  down  and  dispatch  it,  Ola." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  like  to  kill  things,  father,"  cried  the  lad, 
who  with  a  fascinated  gaze  was  regarding  the  struggling 
ptarmigan.  "  When  they  hang  themselves  I  don't  mind 
it  so  much  ;  but  it  seems  too  wicked  to  wring  the  neck  of 
that  white,  harmless  bird.  No,  let  me  cut  the  snare  with 
my  knife  and  let  it  go." 

"  All  right ;  do  as  you  like,  lad,"  answered  the  father, 
with  gruff  kindliness. 

And  with  a  delight  which  did  his  heart  more  honor 
than  his  head,  Ola  slid  away  on  his  skees  toward  the 
struggling  bird,  which,  the  moment  he  touched  it,  hung 
perfectly  still,  with  its  tongue  stuck  out,  as  if  waiting  for 
its  death-blow. 

"  Kill  me,"  it  seemed  to  say.     "  I  am  quite  ready." 

But,  instead  of  killing  it,  Ola  took  it  gently  in  his 
hand,  and  stroked  it  caressingly  while  cutting  the  snare 
and  disentangling  its  feet.  How  wildly  its  little  heart 
beat  with  fright !  And  the  moment  his  hold  was  re- 
laxed, down  it  tumbled  into  the  snow,  ran  a  few  steps, 
then  took  to  its  wings,  dashed  against  a  tree  in  sheer  be- 
wilderment, and  shook  down  a  shower  of  fine  snow  on 
its  deliverer's  head.  Ola  felt  quite  heroic  when  he  saw 
the  bird's  delight,  and  thought  how,  perhaps,  next  sum- 
mer (when  it  had  changed  its  coat  to  brown)  it  would 
tell  its  little  ones,  nestling  under  its  wings,  of  its  hair- 


A    NEW   WINTER   SPORT.  175 

breadth  escape  from  death,  and  of  the  kind-hearted 
youngster  who  had  set  it  free  instead  of  killing  it. 

While  Ola  was  absorbed  in  these  pleasant  reflections, 
Nils,  his  father,  had  filled  his  hunting-bag  with  game  and 
was  counting  his  spoils. 

"  Now,  quick,  laddie,"  he  called  out,  cheerily.  "  Stir 
your  stumps  and  bring  me  your  bag  of  bait.  Get  the 
snares  to  rights  and  fix  the  berries,  as  you  have  seen  me 
doing." 

Ola  was  very  fond  of  this  kind  of  work,  and  he  pushed 
himself  with  his  staff  from  tree  to  tree,  and  hung  the 
tempting  red  berries  in  the  little  hoops  and  arches  which 
were  attached  to  the  bark  of  the  trees.  He  was  in  the 
midst  of  this  labor,  when  suddenly  he  heard  the  report 
of  his  father's  gun,  and,  looking  up,  saw  a  fox  making  a 
great  leap,  then  plunging  headlong  into  the  snow. 

"  Hello,  Mr.  Reynard,"  remarked  Nils,  as  he  slid  over 
toward  the  dead  animal.  "  You  overslept  yourself  this 
morning.  You  have  stolen  my  game  so  long,  now,  that 
it  was  time  I  should  get  even  with  you.  And  yet,  if  the 
wind  had  been  the  other  way,  you  would  have  caught 
the  scent  of  me  sooner  than  I  should  have  caught  yours. 
Now,  sir,  we  are  quits." 

"What  a  great,  big,  sleek  fellow!"  ejaculated  Ola, 
stroking  the  fox's  fur  and  opening  his  mouth  to  examine 
his  sharp,  needle-pointed  teeth. 

"Yes,"  replied  Nils;  "I  have  saved  the  rascal  the 
trouble  of  hunting  until  he  has  grown  fat  and  secure, 
and  fond  of  his  ease.  I  had  a  long  score  to  settle  with 
that  old  miscreant,  who  has  been  robbing  my  snares  ever 


176  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

since  last  season.     His  skin  is  worth  about  three  dol- 
lars." 

When  the  task  of  setting  the  snares  in  order  had  been 
completed,  father  and  son  glided  lightly  away  under  the 
huge,  snow-laden  trees  to  visit  their  traps,  which  were 
set  further  up  the  mountain.  The  sun  was  just  peeping 
above  the  mountain-ridge,  and  the  trees  and  the  great 
snow-fields  flashed  and  shone,  as  if  oversown  with  num- 
berless diamonds.  Round  about  were  the  tracks  of  birds 
and  beasts ;  the  record  of  their  little  lives  was  traced 
there  in  the  soft,  downy  snow,  and  could  be  read  by 
everyone  who  had  the  eyes  to  read.  Here  were  the 
tracks  telling  of  the  quiet  pottering  of  the  leman  and  the 
field-mouse,  going  in  search  of  their  stored  provisions  for 
breakfast,  but  rising  to  take  a  peep  at  the  sun  on  the 
way.  You  could  trace  their  long,  translucent  tunnels 
under  the  snow-crust,  crossing  each  other  in  labyrinthine 
entanglements.  Here  Mr.  Reynard's  graceful  tail  had 
lightly  brushed  over  the  snow,  as  he  leaped  to  catch 
young  Mrs.  Partridge,  who  had  just  come  out  to  scratch 
up  her  breakfast  of  frozen  huckleberries,  and  here  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Squirrel  (a  very  estimable  couple)  had  partaken 
of  their  frugal  repast  of  pine-cone  seeds,  the  remains  of 
which  were  still  scattered  on  the  snow.  But  far  prettier 
were  the  imprints  of  their  tiny  feet,  showing  how  they 
sat  on  their  haunches,  chattering  amicably  about  the  high 
cost  of  living,  and  of  that  grasping  monopolist,  Mr.  Rey- 
nard, who  had  it  all  his  own  way  in  the  woods,  and  had 
no  more  regard  for  life  than  a  railroad  president.  This 
and  much  more,  which  I  have  not  the  time  to  tell  you, 


A   NEW   WINTER   SPORT.  177 

did  Ola  and  his  father  observe  on  their  skee-excursion 
through  the  woods.  And  when,  late  in  the  afternoon, 
they  turned  their  faces  homeward,  they  had,  besides  the 
ptarmigan  and  the  fox,  a  big  capercailzie  (or  grouse) 
cock,  and  two  hares.  The  twilight  was  already  falling, 
for  in  the  Norway  winter  it  grows  dark  early  in  the  after- 
noon. 

"  Now,  let  us  see,  lad,"  said  Ola's  father,  regarding  his 
son  with  a  strange,  dubious  glance,  "  if  you  have  got 
Norse  blood  in  your  veins.  We  don't  want  to  go  home 
the  way  we  came,  or  we  should  scarcely  reach  the  house 
before  midnight.  But  if  you  dare  risk  your  neck  with 
your  father,  we  will  take  the  western  track  down  the  bare 
mountain-side.  It  takes  brisk  and  stout  legs  to  stand  in 
that  track,  my  lad,  and  I  won't  urge  you,  if  you  are  afraid." 

"  I  guess  I  can  go  where  you  can,  father,"  retorted  the 
boy,  proudly.  "  Anyway,  my  neck  isn't  half  so  valuable 
as  yours." 

"  Spoken  like  a  man  !  "  said  the  father,  in  a  voice  of 
deep  satisfaction.  "  Now  for  it,  lad  !  Make  yourself 
ready.  Strap  the  hunting-bag  close  under  your  girdle,  or 
you  will  lose  it.  Test  your  staff  to  make  sure  that  it  will 
hold,  for  if  it  breaks  you  are  gone.  Be  sure  you  don't 
take  my  track.  You  are  a  fine  chap  and  a  brave  one." 

Ola  followed  his  father's  directions  closely,  and  stood 
with  loudly  palpitating  heart  ready  for  the  start.  Before 
him  lay  the  long,  smooth  slope  of  the  mountain,  show- 
ing only  here  and  there  soft  undulations  of  surface,  where 
a  log  or  a  fence  lay  deeply  buried  under  the  snow.  On 
both  sides  the  black  pine-forest  stood,  tall  and  grave.  If 


I78  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

he  should  miss  his  footing,  or  his  skees  be  crossed  or  run 
apart,  very  likely  he  might  just  as  well  order  his  epitaph. 
If  it  had  not  been  his  father  who  had  challenged  him, 
he  would  have  much  preferred  to  take  the  circuitous  route 
down  into  the  valley.  But  now  he  was  in  for  it,  and 
there  was  no  time  for  retreating. 

"  Ready  ! "  shouted  Nils,  advancing  toward  the  edge 
of  the  slope :  "  One,  two,  three  !  " 

And  like  an  arrow  he  shot  down  over  the  steep  track, 
guiding  his  course  steadily  with  his  staff;  but  it  was 
scarcely  five  seconds  before  he  was  lost  to  sight,  looking 
more  like  a  whirling  snow-drift  than  a  man.  With 
strained  eyes  and  bated  breath,  Ola  stood  looking  after 
him.  Then,  nerving  himself  for  the  feat,  he  glanced  at 
his  skees  to  see  that  they  were  parallel,  and  glided  out 
over  the  terrible  declivity.  His  first  feeling  was  that  he 
had  slid  right  out  into  the  air — that  he  was  rushing  with 
seven-league  boots  over  forests  and  mountain-tops.  For 
all  that,  he  did  not  lose  hold  of  his  staff,  which  he  pressed 
with  all  his  might  into  the  snow  behind  him,  thus  slightly 
retarding  his  furious  speed.  Now  the  pine-trees  seemed 
to  be  running  past  him  in  a  mad  race  up  the  mountain- 
side, and  the  snowy  slope  seemed  to  be  rising  to  meet 
him,  or  moving  in  billowy  lines  under  his  feet.  Grad- 
ually he  gathered  confidence  in  himself,  a  sort  of  fierce 
courage  awoke  within  him,  and  a  wild  exultation  surged 
through  his  veins  and  swept  him  on.  The  wind  whistled 
about  him  and  stung  his  face  like  whip-lashes.  No\v 
he  darted  away  over  a  snowed-up  fence  or  wood-pile, 
shooting  out  into  the  air,  but  always  coming  down  firm- 


NORWEGIAN    SKEE-RUNNERS. 


A    NEW   WINTER   SPORT.  I7g 

ly  on  his  feet,  and  keeping  his  mind  on  his  skees,  so  as 
to  prevent  them  from  diverging  or  crossing.  He  had  a 
feeling  of  grandeur  and  triumphant  achievement  which 
he  had  never  experienced  before.  The  world  lay  at  his 
feet,  and  he  seemed  to  be  striding  over  it  in  a  march  of 
conquest.  It  was  glorious  !  But  all  such  sensations  are 
unhappily  brief.  Ola  soon  knew  by  his  slackening  speed 
that  he  had  reached  the  level  ground  ;  yet  so  great  was 
the  impetus  he  had  received  that  he  flew  up  the  opposite 
slope  toward  his  father's  farm,  and  only  stopped  some 
fifty  feet  below  the  barn.  He  then  rubbed  his  face  and 
pinched  his  nose,  just  to  see  whether  it  was  frozen.  The 
muscles  in  his  limbs  ached,  and  the  arm  which  had  held 
the  staff  was  so  stiff  and  cramped  that  the  slightest  move- 
ment gave  him  pain.  Nevertheless,  he  could  not  make 
up  his  mind  to  rest ;  he  saw  the  light  put  in  the  north 
window  to  guide  him,  and  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  pale, 
anxious  face  behind  the  window-pane,  and  knew  that  it 
was  his  mother  who  was  waiting  for  him.  And  yet  those 
last  fifty  feet  seemed  miles  to  his  tired  and  aching  legs. 
When  he  reached  the  front  door,  his  dog  Yutul  jumped 
up  on  him  in  his  joy  and  knocked  him  flat  down  in  the 
snow  ;  and  oh,  what  an  effort  it  took  to  rise  !  But  no 
sooner  had  he  regained  his  feet,  than  he  felt  a  pair  of 
arms  flung  about  his  neck  and  he  sank,  half  laughing, 
half  crying,  into  his  mother's  embrace. 

"  Cheer  up,  laddie,"  he  heard  someone  saying.  "  Ye 
are  a  fine  chap  and  a  brave  one ! " 

He  knew  his  father's  voice  ;  but  he  did  not  look  up  ;  he 
was  yet  child  enough  to  feel  happiest  in  his  mother's  arms. 


i8o  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

One  of  the  most  popular  winter  sports  in  Norway  is 
skee-racing.  A  steep  hill  is  selected  by  the  committee 
which  is  to  have  charge  of  the  race,  and  all  the  best  skee- 
runners  in  the  district  enter  their  names,  eager  to  engage 
in  the  contest.  The  track  is  cleared  of  all  accidental  ob- 
structions, but  if  there  happens  to  be  a  stone  or  wooden 
fence  crossing  it,  the  snow  is  dug  away  on  the  lower 
side  of  it  and  piled  up  above  it.  The  object  is  to  obtain 
what  is  called  a  "  jump."  The  skee-runner,  of  course, 
coming  at  full  speed  down  the  slope  will  slide  out  over 
this  "  jump,"  shooting  right  out  into  the  air  and  coming 
down  either  on  his  feet  or  any  other  convenient  portion 
of  his  anatomy,  as  the  case  may  be.  To  keep  one's  foot- 
ing, and  particularly  to  prevent  the  skees  from  becoming 
crossed  while  in  the  air,  are  the  most  difficult  feats  con- 
nected with  skee-racing ;  and  it  is  no  unusual  thing  to 
see  even  an  excellent  skee-runner  plunging  headlong  into 
the  snow,  while  his  skees  pursue  an  independent  race 
down  the  track  and  tell  the  spectators  of  his  failure. 
Properly  speaking,  a  skee-race  is  not  a  race — not  a  test 
of  speed,  but  a  test  of  skill ;  for  two  runners  rarely  start 
simultaneously,  as,  in  case  one  of  them  should  fall,  the 
other  could  not  possibly  stop,  and  might  not  even  have 
the  time  to  change  his  course.  He  would  thus  be  in 
danger  of  running  into  his  competitor,  and  could  hardly 
avoid  maiming  him  seriously.  If  there  were  several  par- 
allel tracks,  at  a  distance  of  twenty  to  thirty  feet  from 
each  other,  there  would,  of  course,  be  less  risk  in  having 
the  runners  start  together.  Usually,  a  number  fall  in  the 
first  run,  and  those  who  have  not  fallen  then  continue 


A    NEIV    WINTER   SPORT.  Igl 

the  contest  until  one  gains  the  palm.  If,  as  occasionally 
happens,  the  competition  is  narrowed  down  to  two,  who 
are  about  evenly  matched,  a  proposal  to  run  without 
staves  is  apt  to  result  in  a  decisive  victory  for  one  or  the 
other. 

It  can  hardly  be  conceived  how  exciting  these  contests 
are,  not  only  to  the  skee-runners  themselves,  but  also 
to  the  spectators,  male  and  female,  who  gather  in  groups 
along  the  track  and  cheer  their  friends  as  they  pass,  wav- 
ing their  handkerchiefs,  and  greeting  with  derisive  cries 
the  mishaps  which  are  inseparable  from  the  sport.  Prizes 
are  offered,  such  as  rifles,  watches,  fine  shooting  equip- 
ments, etc.,  and  in  almost  every  valley  in  the  interior  of 
Norway  there  are  skee-runners  who,  in  consequence  of 
this  constant  competition,  have  attained  a  skill  which 
would  seem  almost  incredible.  As  there  are  but  two 
things  essential  to  a  skee-race,  viz. :  a  hill  and  snow,  I 
can  see  no  reason  why  the  sport  should  not  in  time  be- 
come as  popular  in  the  United  States  as  it  is  in  Norway. 
We  have  snow  enough,  certainly,  in  the  New  England 
and  Western  States ;  neither  are  hills  rare  phenomena. 
If  I  should  succeed  in  interesting  any  large  number  of 
boys  in  these  States  in  skee-running,  I  should  feel  that 
I  had  conferred  a  benefit  upon  them,  and  added  much  to 
their  enjoyment  of  winter.  But  before  taking  leave  of 
them,  let  me  give  them  two  pieces  of  parting  advice :  I. 
Be  sure  your  staff  is  strong,  and  do  not  be  hasty  in  throw- 
ing it  away.  2.  Never  slide  down  a  hill  on  a  highway, 
or  any  hard,  icy  surface.  It  is  only  in  the  open  fields, 
and  woods  and  in  dry  snow  that  skees  are  useful. 


THE  SKERRY  OF  SHRIEKS. 
I. 

PEOPLE  live  even  within  the  Polar  Circle,  although 
grown-up  folks  are  apt  to  think  it  a  poor  sort  of  life. 
But  to  boys  the  "  land  of  the  midnight  sun  "  is  a  veri- 
table paradise.  Every  season  of  the  year  has  its  own  kind 
of  sport ;  and  as  schoolmasters  are  rare  birds  so  far  north, 
the  boys  are  to  a  great  extent  left  to  follow  their  own 
devices  until  they  are  old  enough  to  be  sent  away  to 
school  in  the  cities.  From  morning  till  night  the  air  is 
filled  with  a  screaming  host  of  birds,  which  whirl  in 
through  the  fiords  like  an  approaching  snow-storm.  The 
eider-ducks  lie  gently  bobbing  upon  the  water,  the  black 
surf-scoters  dive  in  the  surf  and  make  short  work  of  the 
young  whiting,  and  the  puffins  sit  in  long  soldier-like 
rows  on  the  rocks,  and  plunge  headlong  into  the  sea  at 
the  first  signal  of  danger.  In  this  glorious  region  the  fish 
and  fowl  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe  seem  to  have  ap- 
pointed an  annual  meeting  about  New  Year's ;  and  the 
Norwegian  peasants,  who  are  dependent  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  sea  and  the  air  for  their  living,  are  on  the 
lookout  for  them,  and  hasten  to  the  coast  to  give  them  a 
fitting  reception. 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  ^ 

Harry  Winchesters  motive,  however,  for  visiting  the 
Arctic  wonderland  was  quite  a  different  one.  He  had 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Birk  boys  during  the  pre- 
vious summer,  and  he  had  struck  up  a  warm  friendship 
with  one  of  them,  named  Magnus.  His  parents,  who 
lived  in  New  York,  had  permitted  him  to  accept  the  in- 
vitation of  Mr.  Birk  to  spend  the  winter  with  his  sons, 
and  Harry  was  so  completely  fascinated  with  the  sports 
and  adventures  which  every  day  offered  in  abundance 
that  he  would  have  liked  to  prolong  his  stay  indefi- 
nitely. 

Hasselrud,  the  estate  of  the  Birks,  was  a  fine,  old- 
fashioned  mansion,  which  peeped  out  from  the  dense 
foliage  of  chestnut  and  maple  trees.  Mr.  Birk  conducted 
a  large  business  in  fish  and  lumber,  and  manned  every 
year  several  boats  and  sent  them  to  the  Lofoten  fisheries. 
J  li^  three  sons,  Olaf,  Magnus,  and  Edwin,  were  brisk  and 
courageous  lads,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  danger 
from  their  earliest  years,  and  could  handle  a  gun  and 
manage  a  sail  as  well  as  any  man  in  that  region.  Olaf 
was  nineteen  years  old,  and  wore  the  uniform  of  a  mid- 
shipman in  the  navy,  and  by  courtesy  was  styled  lieuten- 
ant ;  Magnus,  who  was  sixteen,  was  a  fair-faced,  curly- 
headed  lad,  with  frank  blue  eyes,  a  straight,  handsome 
nose,  and  a  singular  talent  for  getting  into  mischief. 
Edwin  was  but  twelve  years  old;  but,  as  he  does  not 
figure  conspicuously  in  this  narrative,  there  is  no  need  of 
describing  him.  But  altogether  the  most  important  per- 
son at  Hasselrud,  next  to  Mr.  Birk,  was  Grim  Hering- 
Luck,  a  hoary,  bow-legged  fisherman,  who  was  Mr.  Birk's 


t84  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

right-hand  man  and  captain  of  his  boat-guild.  Grim  had 
a  stern,  deep-wrinkled  face,  framed  in  a  wreath  of  gray- 
ish whiskers.  He  had  small,  piercing  eyes,  and  bushy, 
gray-sprinkled  hair.  On  his  head  he  wore  a  sou'wester. 
The  seat  and  knees  of  his  trousers  and  the  elbows  of  his 
coat  were  adorned  with  great  shiny  patches  of  leather. 
The  leathern  girdle  about  his  waist  did  not  quite  fulfil 
its  duties  as  suspenders,  but  allowed  the  trousers  to  slip 
down  on  his  hips,  leaving  some  four  inches  of  shirt  visible 
under  the  border  of  the  waistcoat.  Grim  was  a  gruff  old 
customer,  but  it  was  commonly  believed  that  his  bark 
was  worse  than  his  bite.  He  liked  the  bright  American 
boy  better  than  he  cared  to  confess,  and  therefore  neg- 
lected no  opportunity  for  quarrelling  with  him.  In  fact, 
everybody  admired  Harry's  enterprising  spirit  and  was 
entertained  by  his  lively  talk.  Olaf  was  fairly  dazzled 
by  his  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  world,  and  little 
Edwin  copied  his  walk  and  his  picturesque  recklessness 
to  the  extent  of  his  small  ability ;  but  among  all  the 
family  there  was  no  one  who  was  more  ardently  attached 
to  Harry  than  Magnus.  The  two  were  inseparable ; 
from  morning  till  night  they  roamed  about  together, 
setting  traps  for  hares  and  ptarmigan,  spearing  trout  in 
the  shallows  of  the  river,  trawling  for  mackerel  in  the 
salt  water,  an  I  sometimes  tacking  in  and  out  of  the  fiord 
in  a  furious  gale.  At  such  times,  however,  they  were 
sure  to  have  Grim  in  the  boat,  and  Grim  was  a  capital 
man  to  have  in  a  boat  in  case  of  an  emergency.  Thus 
they  spent  the  beautiful  autumn  months  until  the  No- 
vember storms  began  to  blow,  the  snow  began  to  fall,  and 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  185 

the  air,  when  they  looked  out  the  fiord,  was  thick  and 
the  sky  threatening.  The  great  trees  bent  in  agony  and 
howled  in  the  blast  with  voices  of  despair.  Then  Giim 
would  begin  to  investigate  and  to  mend  the  nets  which 
hung  in  long  festoons  along  the  walls  of  the  boat-houses, 
and,  with  his  friendly  grunt,  he  would  say  in  reply  to 
Magnus'  queries : 

"  Wai,  Mester  Yallertop,  the  Lord  he  looks  out  fer 
them  as  they  look  out  fer  themselves.  He  puts  the  cod 
in  the  sea,  but  I  never  heared  of  his  puttin'  it  in  yer 
mouth  fer  ye.  He  made  the  land  poor  up  here,  but  he 
made  the  sea  rich,  jest  fer  to  make  the  average  right  in 
the  end.  He  lets  ye  starve  like  a  toothless  rat  if  ye  have 
a  taste  fer  starvin'.  But  thar  ain't  no  call  for  anybody  to 
starve  here  north,  ef  he  can  bait  a  hook  and  ain't  afea/red 
of  bein'  late  to  his  funeral." 

"  Being  late  to  your  own  funeral,  Grim  ! "  Magilus 
would  exclaim,  in  amazement ;  "how  can  a  man  be  late 
to  his  funeral  ?  " 

"  Wai,  now,  Mester  Yallertop,  that  I'll  tell  ye.  Fur 
that  ain't  no  uncommon  case  here  north.  Suppose  ye  go 
out  in  the  mornin'  with  the  fishin'  fleet,  and  it  blows  up 
right  lively,  and  ye  don't  never  come  back  again.  Then 
after  a  week  or  so  the  parson  reads  the  sarvice  over  yer 
name  and  prays  fer  ye,  and  the  next  mornin',  likely  as 
not,  yer  legs  drift  ashore,  quite  independent-like,  jest  be- 
cause the  cod  found  yer  tarred  top-boots  indergestible." 

"  And  do  such  things  ever  happen,  Grim  ?  "  the  boy 
would  ask,  shuddering  at  the  ghastly  picture  which  his 
friend's  words  suggested. 


i86  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

"  Do  they  ever  happen  ?  Wai,  I  reckon  they  do.  1 
might  jest  mention  to  ye  that  I  ain't  in  the  habit  of 
tellin'  no  lies.  My  father — God  ha'e  mercy  on  his  soul 
• — he  sent  only  his  legs  fur  to  represent  him  at  his  fun- 
eral ;  and  my  grandfather — wal,  the  cod  turned  the  tables 
on  him ;  he  had  meant  to  eat  them,  but — it  ain't  no  use 
bein'  squeamish  about  it — they  ate  him.  It  war  in  the 
great  storm  of  the  nth  of  February,  1848,  when  five 
hundred  fisherman  cheated  the  parson  out  of  his  funeral 
fees." 

"  How  terrible,  Grim  !  How  can  you  go  to  the  fish- 
eries every  winter,  when  both  your  father  and  your  grand- 
father lost  their  lives  there  ?  " 

"  Wal,  now  ye  are  puzzlin'  me,  Mester  Magnus,"  Grim 
replied,  taking  his  clay  pipe  from  the  corner  of  his  mouth, 
and  looking  up  seriously  from  his  labor ;  "  but  I'll  tell 
ye  a  yarn  I  heared  when  I  was  young.  I  reckon  it  is 
true,  because  I  have  never  heared  nobody  say  it  warn't. 
Some  city  chap  axed  a  fisherman  purty  much  what  ye 
have  axed  me,  and  the  fisherman  says,  says  he :  '  Whar 
did  yer  father  die  ? '  *  Why,  he  expired  peacefully  in  his 
bed/  said  the  city  chap.  '  And  yer  grandfather  ?  '  axed 
the  fisherman.  '  Wal,  he  had  jest  the  same  luck,'  says 
the  city  chap.  *  And  yer  great-grandfather  ?  '  '  He,  too, 
turned  up  his  toes  in  the  same  style.'  '  Wal,  now,'  says 
the  fisherman,  '  if  I  were  you  I  wouldn't  never  go  to 
bed  again,  sence  all  yer  forbears  come  to  their  death  in 
it.'  Now,  I  reckon  that  is  the  way  with  all  of  us.  Ef 
the  Lord  wants  us  he  will  know  whar  to  find  us,  whar- 
soever  we  be." 


THE   SKERRY    OF  SHRIEKS.  jg; 

When  the  Christmas  holidays,  with  all  their  old-fash- 
ioned hospitality  and  sports,  were  over  the  question  was 
seriously  debated  whether  the  boys  should  be  permitted 
to  accompany  Grim  and  the  housemen  (tenants)  to  the 
Lofoten  fisheries.  It  was  decided  that  three  boats 
should  be  manned,  and  Grim  was  as  usual  elected  cap- 
tain of  the  whole  guild.  The  "  tokens  "  had  been  un- 
commonly good  this  year,  and  a  profitable  fishery  was 
expected.  Mr.  Birk,  who  well  knew  the  dangers  con- 
nected with  this  enterprise,  was  very  unwilling  to  let  the 
boys  start  out  in  the  open  boats,  and  suffer  the  discom- 
forts which  were  inseparable  from  the  life  on  these  barren 
islands,  where  thousands  of  people  were  huddled  to- 
gether in  booths  and  shanties,  and  quarrels  and  fights 
were  the  order  of  the  day.  Harry,  however,  argued  that 
such  an  experience  would  scarcely  offer  itself  to  him  a 
second  time  in  his  life,  and  that  it  was  easy  to  avoid 
danger  while  still  observing  all  that  was  interesting  and 
instructive  in  the  lives  of  the  people.  Olaf  and  Magnus, 
too,  added  their  powers  of  persuasion  to  those  of  Harry, 
and  in  the  end  Mr.  Birk  (after  enjoining  a  hundred  pre- 
cautions) had  to  yield,  stipulating  only  that  Edwin 
should  remain  at  home.  Grim  promised  to  keep  a  care- 
ful look-out  over  the  movements  of  the  boys,  but  he 
refused  to  be  responsible  for  their  safety,  because,  as  he 
remarked,  "  they  were  too  lively  a  lot  to  be  controlled  by 
a  stiff-legged  old  crab  like  himself." 

It  was  a  gray  morning  in  January  that  the  long  eight 
oared  boats  were  made  ready,  the  chests  containing  pro- 
visions and  clothes  were  placed  in  the  stern,  and  the  sails 


i88  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

with  a  rattling  noise  flew  up  and  bulged  before  the  wind. 
The  sky  had  a  peculiar  whitish-gray  color,  which  has  al- 
ways an  ominous  look  and  promises  squalls.  Yet  it  was 
a  glorious  sensation  to  feel  the  boats  shooting  away  over 
the  crests  of  the  waves,  dashing  the  spray  like  smoke 
about  them  and  yielding  like  living  things  to  the  slight- 
est prompting  of  the  rudder.  Grim  himself  sat  in  the 
stern  of  the  first  boat,  which  the  boys  had  named  "  The 
Cormorant,"  holding  the  tiller  in  his  left  hand  and  the 
sh<;et  in  his  right.  Magnus  had  found  a  rather  elevated 
segt  in  the  prow,  from  whence  he  could  observe  the  cap- 
tain's manoeuvres  and  take  lessons  in  seamanship.  Harry 
and  Olaf  sat  on  the  middle  bench,  watching  the  horizon 
and  seeing  the  squalls  dash  down  from  the  mountains 
and  sweep  their  trails  of  smoke  across  the  fiord. 

"  It  must  be  dangerous  sailing  here,  Grim,"  Harry  ob- 
served, uneasily. 

"  It  ain't  no  joke — fer  goslings,"  answered  Grim. 

"  I  should  think,  on  the  whole,  it  would  be  more  com- 
fortable for  goslings  than  for  men,"  retorted  Harry,  care- 
lessly. "  They  wouldn't  mind  a  ducking  half  as  much 
as  I  should." 

"  If  ye  are  afeard  just  say  so,  and  I'll  put  ye  ashore," 
said  Grim,  sternly. 

"Afraid!"  said  Harry,  indignantly;  "not  much,  old 
man ;  guess  I  can  give  you  odds  any  day  if  you  want  to 
try  my  courage." 

"  I  want  to  try  ef  ye  can  hold  your  tongue,"  was  the 
captain's  ungracious  reply.  "  I  ain't  much  for  gassin'  on 
the  water  v 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  189 

Harry,  thinking  that  perhaps  the  situation  was  gravet> 
than  he  supposed,  failed  to  resent  the  snub,  and  {ell 
again  to  watching  the  horizon.  They  shot  away  at  a 
tearing  speed  over  the  waves,  and  sometimes  "  The  Cor- 
morant "  careened  heavily  to  leeward  and  shipped  a  sea, 
but  Grim  still  made  no  motion  to  reef  the  sail.  The  other 
Hasselrud  boats,  which  had  kept  bravely  in  the  wake  of 
their  leader,  were  now  falling  behind,  and  the  blinding 
spray  often  hid  them  completely  from  sight.  The  fiord 
was  growing  wider,  and  the  long  "  ground  swell "  showed 
that  they  were  nearing  the  ocean.  The  stormy  petrel  was 
seen  skimming  lightly,  half  flying,  half  running,  over  the 
tops  of  the  billows,  and  her  shrill  scream  pierced  like  a 
sharp  instrument  through  the  deep  bass  of  the  wind.  The 
boats  round  about  them  multiplied,  and  a  whole  fleet  of 
reddish-brown  sails  was  seen  steering  toward  the  Lofoten 
Islands.  The  day  passed  without  any  incident,  and  when 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  darkness  came 
rolling  in  like  a  gray  curtain  from  the  west,  Grim  put 
into  port  and  the  boys  devoured  between  them  a  five- 
pound  cod,  whereupon  they  all  crawled  into  the  same 
bunk  in  a  fisherman's  lodging-house  and  slept  the  sleep 
of  the  just. 

The  next  morning  they  were  aroused  before  daybreak, 
and  after  a  frugal  repast  of  coffee  and  sandwiches  were 
hurried  into  the  boat.  The  wide  ocean  now  stretched 
out  before  them,  rolling  with  a  mighty  thundering 
rhythm  against  the  rock-bound  coast.  A  light  mist  was 
hovering  over  the  water,  but  the  wind  was  fair,  and  hun- 
dreds of  boats  were  already  scudding  northward  toward 


199  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

the  rich  fishing-banks.  As  soon  as  the  fog  rose  and  was 
scattered,  the  invisible  sun  sent  a  faint  semblance  of  light 
up  among  the  low  clouds,  and  immediately  thousands  of 
gulls  and  auks  and  cormorants  were  on  the  wing,  and 
whirled  with  a  wild  confusion  of  screams  in  the  wake  of 
the  fishing-fleet.  When  toward  noon  the  wind  slackened 
a  little,  Magnus  swung  out  a  trawling-line  and  had  al- 
most in  the  same  moment  a  bite  which  sent  the  line 
whizzing  over  the  gunwale. 

"  Gracious  !  I  am  afraid  I  have  caught  a  whale,"  he 
shouted,  standing  up  in  the  boat,  and  holding  on  to  the 
line  with  all  his  might ;  but  being  unable  to  keep  his 
footing,  he  flung  himself  prone  across  the  row-bench  and 
would  inevitably  have  been  pulled  overboard  if  Harry 
and  Olaf  had  not  caught  hold  of  him  by  the  legs  and 
told  him  to  let  the  line  go. 

"  You  remind  me  of  the  Englishman  at  the  siege  of 
Quebec  who  had  caught  three  Frenchmen,"  said  Harry. 
"  I  should  say  it  was  the  whale  who  had  caught  you,  in 
the  present  case,  if  a  whale  it  is.  Now  /am  going  to  try 
my  luck,"  he  added,  seizing  the  wooden  frame  to  which 
the  line  was  attached  just  as  it  was  about  to  fly  over- 
board. He  braced  himself  against  the  mast  and  flung 
his  body  backward,  but  the  line  cut  into  his  hands  so 
terribly  that  he  had  to  cry  for  help.  Then  Olaf  was 
promptly  at  his  side,  and  by  their  united  efforts  they 
succeeded  in  hauling  in  a  couple  of  fathoms ;  but  it  was 
not  until  one  of  the  boatmen  added  his  strength  to  theirs 
that  they  made  any  sensible  headway.  Great  was  their 
delight  when,  at  the  end  of  five  minutes,  they  caught 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  I9, 

sight  of  an  enormous  halibut,  weighing  some  forty  or 
fifty  pounds,  but,  as  well  might  be  imagined,  it  was  no 
easy  job  to  get  such  a  monster  into  the  boat  without  up- 
setting it.  The  only  way  was  evidently  to  tire  him  out 
until  he  lost  all  power  of  resistance,  and  as  he  had  swal- 
lowed the  metal  bait  with  tremendous  vim  there  was  no 
danger  of  his  escaping. 

It  was  well  on  toward  evening  when  they  put  inco 
harbor  on  the  northern  coast  of  Lofoten,  where  they 
were  to  remain  while  the  fisheries  lasted.  An  endless 
double  row  of  boats  stretched  along  the  shore,  and  be- 
hind these  the  so-called  "  Hjaelder,"  or  drying-houses, 
rose  in  gaunt  perspective  against  the  dark  sky.  Thou- 
sands of  boats  were  drawn  up  along  the  whole  beach, 
and  the  smell  of  fish  pervaded  the  air  and  seemed  even 
to  be  borne  in  on  the  ocean  breeze.  Grim,  followed  by 
all  the  men  from  the  three  boats,  marched  up  to  the 
Hasselrud  booth,  which  he  unlocked,  and  ordered  the 
temporary  cook  to  make  a  fire  on  the  hearth  and  to 
prepare  supper.  It  was  a  large  empty  room,  one  wall  of 
which  was  occupied  by  the  hearth  and  two  by  rows  of 
bunks,  one  above  the  other,  resembling  the  berths  in 
the  steerage  of  an  immigrant  steamer.  It  looked  cheer- 
less, and  the  boys,  whose  expectations  had  pictured  to 
them  something  quite  different,  shivered  at  the  sight  of 
the  bare  and  sooty  walls.  Nevertheless  when  the  fire 
had  been  lighted,  and  a  couple  of  burning  pine  knots 
stuck  into  the  wall,  they  took  heart  again  and  determined 
to  make  the  best  of  the  situation. 

The   next    morning   at   daybreak   they  jumped    into 


192  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

their  clothes,  pulling  complete  oil-cloth  suits  on  the  out* 
side  of  their  ordinary  garments.  Then  fastening  their 
yellow  sou'westers  under  their  chins,  they  surveyed  each 
other  with  undisguised  looks  of  admiration  and  began  to 
feel  like  real  fishermen.  The  breakfast  was  swallowed  in 
haste,  and  they  scarcely  noticed  how  the  hot  coffee 
scalded  their  mouths,  so  eager  were  they  to  be  off. 
Nevertheless,  as  they  had  no  nets  to  draw  as  yet,  they 
delayed  their  departure  for  several  hours.  It  was  a  raw, 
cold  morning,  but  the  signals  at  the  government  station 
indicated  fair  but  blustery  weather.  The  whole  fleet  had 
already  started,  and  the  Hasselrud  boats  were  among  the 
last  to  set  sail  for  the  fishing-banks.  It  was  glorious  to 
see  the  wide  ocean  studded,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
with  swelling  sails,  and  the  air  filled  for  miles  with  a 
screaming  host  of  great,  white-winged  sea-birds.  Round 
about  the  whales  were  spouting,  shooting  columns  of 
water  into  the  gray  light  of  the  morning  :  and  the  auks 
were  rocking  upon  the  waves,  and  vanishing,  quick  as  a 
flash,  as  soon  as  a  boat  approached  them.  The  fresh  sea- 
breeze  blew  into  the  faces  of  the  three  boys,  and  they 
felt  like  Norse  Vikings  of  the  olden  time  starting  out  in 
search  of  fame  and  adventures.  It  was  about  twelve 
o'clock  when  they  arrived  at  the  fishing-banks ;  the  sails 
were  lowered  and  the  nets  sunk  by  means  of  lead  sinkers 
and  stones  attached  to  their  lower  edge.  Wooden  floats, 
similarly  attached  to  their  upper  edge,  held  them  in  posi 
tion  in  the  water.  Grim  sat,  grave  and  imperturbable,  in 
the  stern,  issuing  his  commands  in  a  voice  which  rose 
high  above  the  rushing  of  the  water  and  the  whizzing  ol 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  !93 

the  wind,  and  every  man  obeyed  with  a  promptness  as  if 
his  life  depended  upon  it.  The  sea  was  so  packed  with 
cod  that  the  nets  often  stopped,  gliding  slowly  over  the 
backs  of  the  fishes,  and  being  again  arrested  by  the 
myriads  of  finny  creatures  below.  Often  the  same  net 
had  to  be  taken  up  and  disentangled  several  times  before 
it  made  its  way  to  the  bottom.  The  water  was  thick 
with  spawn,  which  clung  in  long  gelatinous  ropes  to  the 
blades  of  the  oars,  and  doubled  their  weight  to  the 
rowers.  The  boys,  leaning  out  over  the  gunwale,  could 
see  the  huge  male  cods  winding  themselves  onward 
through  the  dense  throngs  of  females  which  stood  still 
with  their  noses  against  the  current,  moving  their  fins,  and 
shedding  their  spawn.  It  seemed  a  positive  mercy  to  haul 
up  a  million  or  so  of  them,  just  to  make  room  for  the  rest. 

"  I  understand  now,"  exclaimed  Harry,  "  how  the  Ca- 
nadians managed  to  cheat  us  out  of  so  much  money — six 
millions,  more  or  less,  I  think — because  we  had  en- 
croached upon  their  fishing-grounds.  I  would  myself 
pay  a  good  round  sum  for  sport  like  this ;  and  the  joke 
of  it  is  that  you  are  making  money  at  it  and  have  all  the 
fun  in  the  bargain." 

"  And  have  ye  fisheries  in  America  too,  lad  ?  "  Grim 
asked,  with  visible  interest,  as  he  let  the  last  float  slip 
from  his  hand. 

"  Have  we  got  fisheries  in  America  ?  Well,  I  should 
say  we  had,  old  man,"  said  Harry,  fired  with  patriotic 
ardor.  "You  just  tell  me  what  we  haven't  got  in  Amer- 
ica. If  you'll  come  over  and  see  I  shall  be  happy  to  en- 
tertain you." 
'3 


194  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

"  tf  e  are  safe  in  invitin'  me,  lad,"  Grim  retorted,  biting 
a  quid  from  his  roll  of  tobacco.  "  A  purty  rigger  an  old 
sea-dog  like  me  would  make  in  your  ma's  carpeted  par- 
lor." 

Harry  in  his  heart  admitted  the  force  of  this  remark, 
and  he  laughed  to  himself  at  the  thought  of  Grim's  un- 
gainly form  seated  in  one  of  his  mother's  spindle-legged 
blue  satin  chairs  ;  but,  for  all  that,  he  liked  Grim  too 
much  to  wish  to  offend  him,  and  therefore  stuck  bravely 
to  his  invitation,  insisting  that  it  was  sincerely  meant. 
As  they  were  amicably  squabbling,  the  sun  suddenly 
burst  forth,  and  flung  its  dazzling  radiance  upon  the 
ocean.  The  noise  of  the  sea-birds  grew  louder,  making 
the  vast  vault  of  the  sky  alive  with  countless  varieties  of 
screams.  The  fishes  leaped,  the  whales  spouted  lustily, 
the  stormy  petrel  danced  over  the  crests  of  the  billows  ; 
thousands  of  boats  lay  bobbing  up  and  down  on  the 
waves,  while  the  lines  were  being  baited;  a  thousand 
voices  shouted  to  each  other  from  boat  to  boat ;  oars  and 
rudders  rattled,  and  the  wind  sang  in  the  mast-tops.  It 
was  a  scene  which  once  seen  could  never  be  forgotten. 

II. 

Long  before  the  Hasselrud  men  had  their  lines  set  the 
whole  fleet  had  rowed  back  toward  land.  But  Grim's 
boat-guild,  which  had  just  arrived,  and  had  as  yet  no 
nets  to  draw,  lingered  for  a  while  eating  their  dinner, 
which  they  had  brought  with  them  in  the  boats.  They 
chatted  and  told  stories  about  Draugen,  the  sea-bogey 


THE   SKERRY  OF  SHRIEKS.  195 

who  rows  in  a  half  boat,  and  whose  scream  sounds  terri- 
bly through  the  tempest.  Any  man  who  sees  him 
knows  that  he  will  never  see  land  again.  Draugen  is 
only  out  in  the  worst  weather ;  he  has  a  sou'wester  on 
his  head,  his  face  is  white  and  ghastly  as  death  itself,  and 
his  empty  eye-sockets  have  no  eyes  in  them.  The  boys 
shuddered  at  the  horrible  picture  which  was  conjured  up 
before  them,  and  it  was  a  relief  to  them  when  the  time 
came  for  pulling  up  the  lines,  and  the  great  codfishes 
were  hauled  sprawling  into  the  boat ;  each  one  had 
plenty  to  do  now  in  cutting  out  the  hooks  and  in  wind- 
ing the  lines  upon  their  frames.  A  smart  gale  had 
sprung  up  while  they  were  thus  engaged,  and  Grim  be- 
gan to  look  wistfully  at  the  lurid  sunset. 

"  The  sun  draws  water,"  he  said  ;  "  that  means  lively 
weather.  Hoist  the  sails,  lads,  and  let  us  turn  our  noses 
shoreward." 

He  had  hardly  uttered  his  command  when  a  thick 
curtain  seemed  to  be  drawn  across  the  face  of  the  sun, 
and  the  sea  became  black  as  ink. 

"  Clew  up  the  sail !  "  he  shouted,  in  a  voice  of  thun- 
der ;  "  we  are  in  for  it." 

With  a  roar  as  of  a  chorus  of  cataracts  the  storm  ad- 
vanced, lashing  the  water  into  smoke  which  whirled 
heavenward,  making  the  sky  dense  as  night.  The  masts 
creaked,  the  boats  tore  away  with  a  frantic  speed,  and 
the  waves  rose  mountain-high,  with  steep,  black  gulfs  be- 
tween them. 

"  Cap'n,"  one  of  the  men  ventured  to  remonstrate, 
"  are  we  not  carry  in'  too  much  sail  ?  " 


196  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

Grim  deigned  him  no  reply,  but,  with  a  sharp  turn 
of  the  tiller,  ran  The  Cormorant  closer  to  the  wind. 
Forward  bounded  the  boat,  cleaving  the  coming  wave 
with  a  blow  of  her  bows  which  made  her  timbers  groan. 
The  spray  was  dashed  fathoms  high,  and  would  have 
drenched  every  man  on  board  if  his  oil-skins  had  not 
been  water-tight.  Of  the  other  boats  only  two  were  vis- 
ible, and  it  was  splendid  to  see  how  they  rose  out  of  one 
sea,  until  half  the  length  of  their  keels  were  visible,  then 
buried  their  noses  in  the  next,  while  great  sheets  of  foam 
splashed  on  either  side,  and  were  torn  into  shreds  by  the 
gale. 

"  This  is  rather  lively  work,  I  should  say,"  remarked 
the  midshipman.  "  I  think  I  should  prefer  a  man-of-war 
to  The  Cormorant  in  this  sort  of  weather/' 

"  I  confess  to  a  weakness  for  Cunarders,"  said  Harry  ; 
"  yet  I  dare  say  I  shall  enjoy  this  affair  well  enough  when 
we  get  safely  ashore." 

"You  mean  //"we  get  safely  ashore,"  said  Magnus, 
quietly.  "  This  has  rather  an  ugly  look  to  me.  Though 
I  dare  say  Grim  knows  what  he  is  about." 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  when  a  harsh  voice  bellowed, 
"  Lay  hold  of  the  mast,  lads ! "  and  in  the  same  moment 
they  seemed  to  be  flung  to  a  dizzying  height ;  a  huge 
wave  towered  in  front,  showing  a  white  whirling  top 
which  seemed  on  the  point  of  breaking  right  over  them. 
They  had  just  time  to  clasp  the  mast  when  the  boat, 
lying  flat  on  her  side,  pressed  down  by  her  weight  of  can- 
vas, plunged  her  nose  into  this  mountain  of  water,  but 
by  some  astonishing  manoeuvre  righted  herself,  slid  down 


THE   SKERRY  OF  SHRIEKS.  197 


within  another  black  hollow,  and  again  rose  high  on 
crest  of  another  wave. 

"  All  hands  bail  !  "  roared  the  captain. 

The  command  came  not  a  moment  too  soon  ;  the 
water  was  rushing  in  from  the  leeward,  and  the  flying 
wreaths  of  foam  struck  the  boy's  faces  with  a  terrible 
force  and  made  them  smart  furiously. 

"  Grim  !  Grim  !  "  shouted  Olaf,  making  himself  heard 
with  a  difficulty  above  the  storm,  "  you  are  carrying  too 
much  sail." 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  gosling,"  Grim  thundered  back  ; 
"  we  have  got  nothin'  but  the  sail  fer  to  save  us." 

"  What  point  are  you  making  for  ?  " 

"  The  Bird  Islands." 

"  I  thought  there  was  no  harbor  there." 

"  Reckon  ye  be  right." 

"  Gracious  heavens  !  "  cried  Olaf,  turning  a  terrified 
countenance  toward  his  comrades  ;  "  he  means  to  wntck 
the  boat  ;  but  he  knows  what  he  is  about.  There  is  no 
other  chance." 

He  sat  for  a  moment  silent,  gazing  up  into  the  cloud 
rack  which  scudded  along  at  a  furious  rate  before  the 
wind.  Strips  of  storm-riven  sky,  with  momentary  vistas 
of  blue,  were  now  and  then  visible,  but  vanished  again, 
making  the  dusk  more  dismal  by  their  memory. 

"  Breakers  ahead  !  "  shouted  Olaf,  "  look  out  !  " 

"  I  see  a  black  ridge  against  the  sky,"  cried  Harry  ; 
"  now  it  is  gone  again  !  " 

He  was  going  to  say  more,  but  the  wind  came  with  t 
howling  screech  and  forced  his  breath  down  his  throat 


98  THE  MODERN"  VIKINGS. 

He  gasped,  and  as  the  boat  gave  a  tremendous  lurch^ 
diving  down  into  a  black  hollow,  he  could  only  cling  to 
the  base  of  the  mast,  lest  the  next  tumble  might  toss  him 
overboard.  The  sound  of  a  steady  rhythmic  roar  rose 
and  fell  upon  the  air,  and  made  them  strain  their  eyes  in 
the  direction  from  which  it  was  coming. 

"  Why,  Grim,  you  are  steering  away  from  the  island," 
Magnus  screamed,  pointing  to  the  black  ridge  which  was, 
once  more,  for  a  moment  revealed. 

"  He  means  to  land  us  on  the  leeward  side,"  Olaf 
bawled  in  his  brother's  ear ;  "  the  chances  are  that  the 
water  is  there  a  bit  smoother." 

To  reach  the  leeward  side  was,  however,  a  task  which 
required  no  mean  order  of  seamanship.  The  distance 
was  too  short  for  tacking,  and  moreover  the  water  was 
filled  with  blind  rocks  and  skerries  which  made  the  ap- 
proach tenfold  dangerous.  It  seemed  to  the  unskilled 
eyes  of  the  boys  that  for  nearly  half  an  hour  The  Cor- 
morant was  tumbling  aimlessly  upon  the  waves,  ship- 
ping seas  which  it  was  a  wonder  did  not  swamp  her,  and 
righting  herself,  as  by  a  miracle,  when  again  and  again 
she  seemed  on  the  point  of  capsizing.  And  yet  all  these 
wonderful  feats  were  only  the  result  of  the  coolest  calcu- 
lation and  the  most  consummate  skill. 

Just  as  they  were  clearing  the  hidden  skerries  at  the 
western  point  of  the  island  the  wind  veered  a  point  to 
the  north,  but  did  not  fall  off  perceptibly.  The  spray 
rose  from  the  shore  like  a  dense  and  blinding  smoke,  and 
in  the  depths  of  every  black  abyss  which  opened  before 
them  death's  jaws  seemed  to  be  yawning.  Harry  closed 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  J9f 

his  eyes  ;  and  though  he  was  no  coward,  his  heart  failed 
him. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  fighting  any  longer  ?  "  he  said  to 
Magnus,  who  was  lying  at  his  side,  clinging  like  him  to 
the  mast ;  "  we  are  going  to  the  bottom,  any  way.  The 
archangel  Gabriel  himself  couldn't  land  us  on  this  shore, 
with  all  the  heavenly  hosts  to  assist  him." 

"  But  Grim  is  a  better  sailor  than  Gabriel,"  Magnus 
replied,  quite  unconscious  of  his  joke.  "  He  knows 
every  inch  of  the  bottom  here  from  the  time  he  was  a 
boy  and  used  to  row  out  here  and  gather  eider-down. 
He  has  told  me  about  it  often.  If  I  were  you  I  wouldn't 
give  up  yet." 

"  All  right,  old  fellow/'  Harry  answered,  taking  heart 
once  more.  "  I  am  ready  for  anything.  But  I  am  an 
unlucky  chap — a  sort  of  a  Jonah,  who  has  a  talent  for 
getting  into  scrapes.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if,  in  case  you 
threw  me  overboard,  the  storm  would  fall  off  and  you 
might  sail  home  in  comfortable  fashion." 

"  We  mean  to  go  overboard,  all  of  us,  in  a  few  min- 
utes," Magnus  retorted,  hugging  Harry  tightly  with  his 
left  arm,  which  he  had  freed  for  that  purpose.  "  Now  1 
am  going  to  propose  something  to  you.  Let  us  tie  our- 
selves together  with  a  rope  so  that  each  may  help  the 
other ;  and  we  may  either  live  or  perish  together." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  would  be  the  loser  by  that  arrange- 
ment," his  friend  exclaimed.  "You  are  a  good  deal 
stronger  than  I  am,  and  you  will  need  every  bit  of  youf 
strength  if  you  are  to  plow  your  way  through  those  aw- 
ful breakers." 


aoo  THE   MODERN    VIKINGS. 

Magnus,  instead  of  answering,  slipped  the  end  of  * 
rope  about  Harry's  waist  and  secured  it  tightly ;  the 
other  end  he  tied  about  his  own  waist,  although  he  came 
near  losing  his  balance,  and  going  headlong  over  the  gun- 
wale. The  Cormorant  had  now  slipped  around  to  the 
leeward  side  of  the  island,  where,  under  the  shelter  of  the 
steep  rock,  the  water  was  a  trifle  less  tumultuous.  And 
yet  a  gigantic  surf  was  running  and  the  undertow  on  the 
steeply  sloping  bottom  seemed  strong  enough  to  take  an 
elephant  off  his  feet.  The  wind  yelled  and  screeched  from 
the  top  of  the  towering  rock,  and  rushed  down  in  thunder- 
ing eddies  on  the  leeward  side.  If  it  had  not  been  for  a 
momentary  clearing  of  the  sky,  which  showed  the  posi- 
tion of  the  breakers  and  the  outline  of  the  shore,  it  would 
have  been  madness  to  risk  landing ;  and  even  as  it  was, 
the  chance  of  being  dashed  to  pieces  against  the  rocks 
seemed  altogether  to  preponderate.  But  Grim  appar- 
ently took  a  different  view  of  the  situation  ;  as  long  as 
the  sail  was  whole  and  the  boat  true  to  her  rudder  he  saw 
no  cause  for  despair. 

"  Now,  lads,"  he  roared,  hoarsely,  "steady  on  yer shanks. 
No  chicken-hearted  chap  among  ye !  Uncoil  the  rope  ! 
Thar's  a  bit  of  sandy  beach  thar — sixty  or  a  hundred  feet 
wide.  If  we  be  in  luck  we'll  be  thar  in  a  minute." 

The  ridge  of  the  island  was  now  half  visible  against 
the  dark  horizon,  but  the  beach  below  was  wrapped  in  a 
dense  smoke,  through  which  came  glimpses  of  the  black 
jagged  rock. 

"  Almighty  Lord  !  thar's  a  skerry  ahead,"  screamed  one 
of  the  boatmen,  as  the  retreating  surf  broke  with  a  wild 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  201 

uproar  over  the  hidden  rock  and  rose  like  a  mighty  water- 
spout against  the  sky.  There  was  a  moment  of  breath- 
less suspense.  Each  man  seemed  to  hear  the  beating  of 
the  other's  heart.  As  the  boat  was  flung  upward  again 
on  the  next  wave,  the  wind  gave  a  frantic  shriek ;  the 
mast  bent  forward  under  the  terrible  strain.  The  incom- 
ing surf  buried  the  skerry  under  a  mountain  of  towering 
water,  and  high  upon  its  crest  The  Cormorant  rode 
triumphant,  only  to  be  hurled  from  its  crest,  fairly  shoot- 
ing through  the  air,  upon  the  beach. 

"  Jump  overboard ! "  bellowed  Grim,  and  seizing 
Magnus  in  his  arms  he  leaped  from  the  stern  just  as 
the  boat  struck  the  sand  and  broke  into  fragments. 
Every  man  followed  his  example;  but  the  undertow 
swept  them  off  their  feet.  Still  Grim  stood  like  a  rock, 
holding  with  his  gigantic  strength  the  rope  to  the  other 
end  of  which  Harry  was  attached.  Once  he  tottered, 
and  if  he  had  had  sand  under  his  feet  he  would  have 
been  dragged  down  by  his  double  burden.  But  by  a 
lucky  chance  he  had  planted  his  heels  upon  a  bowlder 
which  rose  slightly  out  of  the  surf.  When  the  wildest 
force  of  the  wave  had  been  exhausted  he  sprang  up  on 
the  beach,  depositing  Magnus  and  the  half-unconscious 
Harry  beyond  the  reach  of  the  waves.  Back  he  rushed 
again  to  his  former  station,  just  as  one  of  the  boatmen, 
who  had  momentarily  regained  his  footing,  was  scram- 
bling up  toward  him. 

"  I  am  tied  to  the  rope,"  shouted  the  man  >  "  someone 
is  tugging  at  it." 

"  Hand  it  to  me,"  commanded  Grim. 


202  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

The  man  struggled  to  his  feet  and  planted  himself 
resolutely  at  his  captain's  side.  All  this  was  the  work 
of  a  moment.  With  the  next  incoming  wave,  which  was 
happily  much  smaller  than  the  preceding  one,  four  men 
were  flung  up  on  the  sand  ;  but  they  seemed  half  dead, 
and  made  no  effort  to  save  themselves.  Grim,  who 
thought  he  saw  a  glimmer  of  brass  buttons  in  the  water, 
dashed  forward  and  seized  Olaf  by  the  collar,  just  as  he 
would  have  been  sucked  back  by  the  undertow.  He 
bore  him  up  on  the  shore,  while  the  boatman  came  drag- 
ging two  of  his  unconscious  comrades  out  of  the  roaring 
surf.  One  was  still  missing  ;  but  as  the  next  wave  that 
broke  in  tumult  at  their  feet  showed  no  trace  of  him,  they 
knew  that  he  was  beyond  the  reach  of  human  help. 

The  work  of  resuscitating  the  men  was  a  long  and 
tedious  one ;  but  Grim  and  Magnus  both  worked  with 
their  hearts  in  their  throats,  yet  with  a  resolution  which 
scorned  fatigue.  Harry  revived  the  moment  they  had 
poured  a  glass  of  brandy  down  his  throat,  and  he  soon 
recovered  his  spirits  and  volunteered  his  help.  But  the 
midshipman  was  both  badly  battered  and  had  swallowed 
a  quantity  of  water ;  and  it  was  only  after  long  and  per* 
sistent  efforts  on  Grim's  part  that  his  breath  came  back 
to  him.  Their  next  thought  was  of  fire ;  for  the  wind 
was  raw  and  chill,  and  the  last  glimmer  of  daylight  was 
vanishing.  The  problem,  however,  was  a  serious  one, 
for  there  was  not  a  tree  growing  on  the  island,  except 
perhaps  a  few  stunted  juniper  shrubs  up  in  the  crevices 
of  the  rocks.  And  to  get  at  these  in  the  dark  was  no 
easy  undertaking.  Nor  was  their  situation  in  other  re* 


THE   SKERRY   OP  SHRIEKS.  203 

spects  an  enviable  one.  Above  them  loomed  the  black 
cliff,  and  the  surf  was  thundering  at  their  feet  And 
there  they  were  sitting,  huddled  together  in  a  heap  to 
keep  each  other  warm,  and  yet  shivering  in  their  wet 
clothes,  and  thinking  with  horror  of  the  long  hours  of 
the  night  which  must  pass  before  they  could  be  rescued. 

"  Lads,"  cried  Magnus,  suddenly  extricating  himself 
from  Harry  and  Olaf  s  embrace,  "  I  am  the  only  one  of 
you  who  is  not  wet  to  the  skin,  and  I  am  going  to  ex- 
plore this  island  and  see  if  we  can't  scare  up  some  fuel. 
To  sit  here  hugging  each  other  in  the  dark  is  a  dismal 
sort  of  business,  and  I  am  not  so  affectionately  disposed 
as  the  rest  of  you." 

"  A  mighty  peart  chap  ye  be,  lad,"  Grim  said,  raising 
his  tall  figure  out  of  the  group ;  "  but  ye  had  better  let 
me  crawl  ahead,  and  ye  keep  astern  o'  me.  I  know  sum- 
mat  o'  the  island  and  ye  don't  know  nothinV 

"  I'll  keep  abreast  of  you,  Grim,"  Magnus  replied, 
"  but  your  stern  would  obscure  my  view ;  so  take  your 
bearings  and  let's  be  off." 

"  Ye  be  a  mighty  lively  customer,"  Grim  .grumbled, 
admiringly,  giving  the  boy  a  caressing  pat  in  the  dark. 

They  had  scarcely  crawled  fifty  yards  up  the  beach 
when  their  fumbling  hands  touched  something  cold  and 
clammy,  which  felt  like  the  nose  of  some  aquatic  animal. 
There  came  immediately  a  little  chorus  of  whining  barks, 
which  was  followed  by  a  great  flapping,  as  if  something 
broad  and  wet  struck  against  the  stones. 

"  Thunder  and  lightning,  Grim,"  cried  Magnus,  "  what 
sort  of  beasts  are  these  ?  " 


204  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

"  A  herd  of  seals,"  answered  Grim,  quietly  ;  "  it  was 
funny  I  didn't  think  o'  them.  Here  we  have  got  our 
fuel." 

In  the  same  moment  a  cold  nose  was  stuck  right  into 
Magnus'  face  and  he  tumbled  backward,  scarcely  know- 
ing how  to  return  the  unexpected  caress. 

"  Draw  yer  knives,  lads,"  shouted  Grim  to  the  men, 
"  a  herd  of  seals  is  a  comin'  right  upon  ye." 

The  seals  were  now  in  full  flight,  rolling,  tumbling,  and 
pushing  themselves  on  over  the  smooth  sand.  They  in- 
stinctively knew,  even  in  the  dark,  the  way  to  the  water, 
and  they  thus  came  plump  down  upon  the  shipwrecked 
men,  who  had  arisen  in  response  to  Grim's  call  and  were 
ready  to  give  them  a  warm  reception.  In  the  storm  and 
the  fright  of  the  sudden  attack  the  keen  scent  of  the  ani- 
mals scarcely  served  them  at  all.  They  rushed  right 
down  upon  their  enemies,  and  within  a  few  minutes  fully 
a  dozen  of  them  lay  gasping  and  bleeding  upon  the 
beach.  The  rest  plunged  into  the  surf,  where  their 
plaintive  bark  was  heard  as  they  battled  with  the  raging 
sea. 

Grim  and  Magnus  in  the  meanwhile  pushed  on,  grop- 
ing their  way  over  the  slippery  bowlders,  and  keeping 
close  together  so  as  to  help  each  other  in  case  of  acci- 
dent. But  the  farther  they  climbed  the  steeper  grew 
the  rock,  and  as  far  as  they  could  ascertain  by  their  sense 
of  touch  there  was  no  sign  of  vegetation. 

"  Now  look  sharp,  lad,"  cried  Grim,  v/arningly. 
"  Look  sharp  !  "  repeated  Magnus,  "  how  am  I  to  look 
sharp  when  it  is  as  dark  as  pitch  about  me  ?  " 


THE   SKERRY  OF  SHRIEKS.  205 

"  Right  ye  be,  lad,  right  ye  be,"  the  other  retorted ; 
"  ye  be  a  smart  chap  and  a  peart  one.  But  don't  ye  lay 
hold  o'  nothin'  here  before  ye  know  it  is  rock.  Thar  be 
thousands  o'  birds  here  on  the  lee'ard  side  whf»n  thar  be 
a  storm  from  the  north  ;  and  ef  ye  mistook  a  gull  or  a 
cormorant  fer  somethin'  solid  ye  might  tumble  down  and 
break  yer  precious  neck.  Mark  ye  my  word,  chap,  thar 
will  be  a  mighty  lively  hubbub  here  in  a  couple  o'  min- 
utes." 

Grim  had  hardly  uttered  this  prophecy  when  Magnus 
felt  something  feathery  under  his  touch,  and  in  the  same 
instant  there  came  a  piercing  scream  and  a  powerful  wing 
dealt  him  a  blow  across  the  bridge  of  his  nose.  Imme- 
diately there  commenced  a  wild  chorus  of  screams  and 
chattering  protest,  as  if  the  more  sober-minded  birds 
were  deprecating  this  senseless  uproar.  Magnus  thought, 
too,  that  he  heard  his  name  called  from  below,  but  the 
deafening  thunder  of  the  surf  and  the  noise  of  the  birds 
drowned  all  other  sounds,  and  he  concluded  that  he  had 
been  deceived.  It  was  a  terrible  sensation,  all  these  in- 
visible wings  flapping  about  him  in  the  dark ;  unseen 
bodies  precipitated  against  him  and  tumbling  blindly 
about  him  with  a  murderous  tumult  from  a  thousand 
discordant  voices.  He  raised  his  elbows  above  his  head 
to  protect  himself  from  the  blind  assaults  and  the  per- 
petual beating  of  wings.  It  hardly  occurred  to  him  to 
assume  the  offensive  until  he  heard  Grim's  voice  shout- 
ing to  him : 

"  Draw  yer  knife,  lad,  and  make  it  lively  fer  them 
screamin'  rascals.  Their  down  is  worth  money,  and 


*o6  THE   MODERN  VIKINGS. 

they've  got  blubber  as  thick  as  a  seal's.  Give  'em  no 
odds,  I  tell  ye,  my  laddie." 

Magnus  followed  this  advice  promptly.  He  drew  his 
knife,  and  fought  with  a  will,  thrusting  and  striking  right 
and  left,  and  hearing  the  great  birds  tumbling  about  him 
down  the  steep  sides  of  the  rock.  He  had  been  thus 
occupied  for  a  few  minutes  when  suddenly,  to  his  unut- 
terable amazement,  a  great  blaze  rose  from  the  strand  be- 
low, lighting  up  the  barren  wall  of  the  cliff,  and  showing 
him  how  narrow  the  ledge  was  upon  which  he  was  sitting. 
It  was  a  superb  spectacle,  too,  to  see  the  whirling  host 
of  gulls,  auks,  and  cormorants  eddying  wildly  about  his 
head,  the  great  black  cliff  looming  up  above  him,  and  the 
spray  of  the  surf  spouting,  with  angry  brawl,  high  up 
into  the  nocturnal  air. 

"  Hurrah  !  lad,"  yelled  Grim,  through  the  ear-splitting 
noise  and  confusion,  "  I  war  a  blasted  fool  not  to  think 
on  it.  They  be  a-burnin'  the  wreck." 

The  descent  was  a  much  easier  affair  than  the  ascent ; 
for  the  light  of  the  fire  below  blazed  up  every  now  and 
then  and  enabled  them  to  see  where  they  were  treading. 
They  picked  up  between  them  several  dozen  birds,  of 
nearly  half  as  many  varieties,  and  flung  them  down  be- 
fore the  fire,  where  the  company  were  now  seated  in 
comparative  comfort,  warming  their  stiffened  limbs. 
Two  of  the  boatmen  were  engaged  in  skinning  the  seals 
and  cutting  off  the  blubber,  which,  after  squeezing  out 
the  blood,  they  flung  into  the  fire.  Soon  the  oil  began 
to  ooze  out,  and,  flowing  over  the  wood,  burned  with  a 
clear  and  strong  flame. 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  307 

"I  am  going  to  make  myself  comfortable,  fellows," 
said  Harry,  who  was  looking  very  pale  and  chilly  after 
his  involuntary  bath ;  «  and  if  you  don't  mind  it,  I'll 
make  a  scarf  of  this  big  duck.  She  fits  very  nicely  about 
my  throat,  though  she  won't  accommodate  herself  to  the 
bow-knot.  This  little  one  I  am  going  to  stuff  down  my 
bosom.  She  feels  so  deliciously  warm  and  downy !  I 
tell  you,"  he  went  on,  with  emphasis,  suiting  his  actions 
to  his  words,  "  I  mean  to  patent  this  invention,  when  I 
get  back  home,  as  an  infallible  cure  for  rheumatism, 
toothache,  consumption,  chillblains,  corns,  and  kidney 
disease.  I  am  going  to  call  it  Winchester's  In-ze/incible 
JFivifier.  That  will  sound  well  and  catch  the  public 
eye.  I  was  about  ready  to  give  up  the  ghost  awhile  ago, 
and  now  I  feel  quite  jolly." 

He  stretched  himself  luxuriously  on  the  windward  side 
of  the  fire,  arranged  half  a  dozen  ducks  and  auks  under 
his  head  as  a  pillow,  and  closed  his  eyes.  Magnus  and 
Olaf  soon  followed  his  example,  each  tying  a  big  gull 
about  his  throat,  and  feeling  a  grateful  warmth  creeping 
through  their  half-frozen  bodies.  The  men  had  the  good 
luck  to  find  a  bunch  of  drift-wood  large  enough  to  keep 
the  fire  going  until  morning,  and  to  satisfy  their  hunger 
they  roasted  a  piece  of  seal-flesh,  which,  in  spite  of  its 
oily  flavor,  tasted  better  than  they  had  expected.  When 
Grim  saw  that  the  boys  were  asleep  he  covered  them 
carefully  with  his  own  oil-skin  clothes,  while  he  himself 
kept  marching  up  and  down  on  the  beach  to  keep  his 
blood  in  motion.  After  midnight  the  wind  shifted  sud- 
denly to  the  west  and  fell  off  gradually,  the  clouds  were 


ao8  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS* 

scattered,  and  the  moon  sailed  calmly  through  the  dark- 
blue  sky. 

The  three  boys  slept  soundly  after  their  terrible  hard- 
ships, and  the  eastern  sky  was  already  bright  with  the 
dawn  when  they  opened  their  eyes.  The  whole  scream- 
ing colony  of  birds  were  again  on  the  wing,  and  whirled 
about  the  projecting  crags  of  the  cliff  with  wild  clamor. 
Several  sails  were  already  visible  on  the  horizon  and,  as 
soon  as  signals  of  distress  were  hoisted,  steered  toward 
the  island.  Harry,  who  was  ravenously  hungry,  made  a 
courageous  assault  upon  the  roasted  seal-flesh,  but  after 
two  futile  attempts  declared  that  he  was  not  sufficiently 
acclimated  to  relish  such  diet.  If  necessity  compelled 
him,  he  preferred  to  roast  his  boots,  and  to  use  the  seal- 
oil  as  gravy. 

"  What  do  you  say  you  call  this  island  ? "  he  asked 
Grim,  who  was  trotting  at  his  side  up  and  down  on  the 
sand. 

"  The  Bird  Island,"  answered  Grim. 

"  I  should  rather  call  it  the  <  Skerry  of  Shrieks,' "  said 
Harry ;  "  for  in  all  my  living  days  I  have  never  heard  a 
finer  assortment  of  varied  yells  than  I  heard  here  last 
night.  It  must  be  a  jolly  place  in  summer,  when  the 
nights  are  light  and  the  weather  comfortable." 

"  It  ain't  bad  fer  such  as  like  it,"  was  Grim's  non-com- 
mittal reply. 

"  And  do  you  know,"  Magnus  put  in  eagerly,  "  during 
the  early  fall  the  island  is  quite  covered  with  eider-ducks' 
nests,  so  that  you  can  hardly  move  your  feet  without 
stepping  into  them.  All  those  little  round  depressions 


THE   SKERRY   OF  SHRIEKS.  joj 

up  on  the  slope  there  are  such  nests;  and  thousands 
of  dollars  have  been  made  here  in  times  past  by  gather- 
ing the  down  with  which  the  eider-duck  lines  her  nest ; 
and  it  is  even  possible  during  the  brooding  season  to 
catch  the  bird  alive  and  pull  the  down  from  her  breast ; 
though  I  think  that  would  be  cruel,  as  she  probably 
needs  all  she  has  left  after  having  picked  herself  for  the 
benefit  of  her  young." 

"The  eider-duck  must  be  very  tame,"  Harry  ob- 
served. 

"  Yes,  it  is  very  tame,  indeed,  because  people  rarely 
molest  it,"  said  Magnus ;  "  the  peasants  have  a  kind  of 
superstitious  respect  for  it,  and  they  won't  allow  any- 
one to  kill  it.  It  is  very  much  the  same  kind  of  feeling 
as  they  have  for  the  swallow.  They  think  a  misfort- 
une will  befall  him  who  robs  or  pulls  down  a  swallow's 
nest." 

Several  boats  were  by  this  time  within  hailing  distance, 
and  they  were  easily  persuaded  to  run  up  and  take  the 
shipwrecked  company  on  board.  They  insisted,  how- 
ever, upon  drawing  their  nets  before  returning,  and  thus 
it  happened  that  it  was  nearly  noon  before  the  party  set 
foot  on  shore.  They  now  learned  that  a  great  many 
boats  besides  their  own  had  been  wrecked  during  yester- 
day's storm,  and  that  some  fifty  or  sixty  men  had  been 
drowned.  Many  dead  bodies  were  washed  ashore  during 
the  day,  and  some  were  even  drawn  up  in  the  nets  and 
sent  home  to  their  sorrowing  widows.  Sad,  indeed,  was 
the  sight  of  the  little  fleet  of  boats  which  sailed  south- 
ward that  afternoon,  each  with  a  tarred  pine  box  show- 
14 


2io  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

ing  above  its  gunwales.  The  three  boys,  although  they 
would  scarcely  have  admitted  that  the  disaster  had  dis- 
couraged them,  concluded,  after  a  short  consultation,  that 
the  experience  they  had  already  had  of  the  fisheries  was 
an  instructive  one  and  would  probably  last  them  for  the 
remainder  of  their  lives.  They  therefore,  without  much 
regret,  induced  Grim  to  hoist  the  sails  and  pilot  them 
safely  home. 


FIDDLE-JOHN'S  FAMILY. 


"  QUEER  sort  of  chap  that  Fiddle-John  is,"  said  the 
men,  when  Fiddle-John  went  by. 

"  Quaint  sort  o'  cr'atur*  is  Fiddle-John,"  echoed  the 
women  ;  "  not  much  in  the  providin'  line." 

"  A  singular  individual  is  that  Violin-John,"  said  the 
parson  ;  "  I  can  never  make  up  my  mind  whether  he  is  a 
worthless  scamp  or  a  man  of  genius."  "  Possibly  both," 
suggested  the  parson's  wife.  "  Apartments  to  let,"  re* 
marked  the  daughter,  tapping  her  forehead  significantly. 

"  Hurrah  !  There  is  Fiddle-John,"  cried  the  children, 
flocking  delightedly  about  him,  clinging  to  his  arms,  his 
legs,  and  his  coat-tails.  "  Sing  us  a  song,  Fiddle-John  ! 
Tell  us  a  story ! " 

Then  Fiddle-John  would  seat  himself  on  a  stone  at 
the  road-side,  while  the  children  nestled  about  him  ; 
and  he  would  tell  them  stories  about  knights  and  ladies, 
and  ogres,  and  princesses,  and  all  sorts  of  marvellous 
things. 

"  Worthless  fellow,  that  Fiddle- John,"  said  the  passers- 
by  ;  "  there  he  sits  in  the  middle  of  the  day  talking  non- 


212  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

sense  to  the  children,  when  he  ought  to  be  working  for 
the  support  of  his  family." 

It  was  perfectly  true ;  Fiddle-John  ought  to  have  been 
working.  He  would  readily  have  admitted  that  himself. 
He  was  well  aware  that  his  wife,  Ingeborg,  was  at  home, 
working  like  a  trooper  to  keep  the  family  from  starving. 
But  then,  somehow,  Fiddle-John  had  no  taste  for  work, 
while  Ingeborg  had.  He  much  preferred  singing  songs 
and  telling  stories.  And  a  very  pretty  picture  he  made, 
as  he  sat  there  at  the  roadside,  with  his  handsome,  gen- 
tle face,  his  large  blue  eyes,  and  his  wavy  blond  hair, 
and  the  children  nestling  about  him,  listening  in  wide- 
eyed  wonder.  There  was  something  very  attractive 
about  his  face,  with  its  mild,  melancholy  smile,  and  a 
sort  of  diffident,  questioning  look  in  the  eyes.  He  had 
an  odd  habit  of  opening  his  mouth  several  times  before 
he  spoke,  and  then,  possibly,  if  his  questioner's  face  did 
not  please  him,  he  would  go  away,  having  said  nothing. 
And,  after  all,  it  was  diffidence  and  not  insolence  which 
prompted  this  action.  It  would  never  have  occurred  to 
Fiddle-John  to  take  a  critical  view  of  anybody ;  he  ap- 
proved of  all  humanity  in  general,  only  he  had  an  intui- 
tive suspicion  when  anyone  was  making  fun  of  him,  and 
in  such  cases  he  found  safety  only  in  flight  and  silence. 

By  profession  Fiddle-John  was  a  ballad-singer;  a 
queer  profession,  you  will  say,  but  nevertheless  one 
which  in  Norway  enjoys  a  certain  recognition.  He  had 
a  voice  which  the  angels  might  have  envied  him — a  clear 
and  sweet  tenor  which  rang  through  the  depths  of  the 
listener's  soul.  Hearing  that  voice,  it  was  impossible 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  213 

not  to  stay  and  listen.  The  deputy  sheriff,  who  once 
came  to  arrest  Fiddle-John  for  vagrancy,  when  Fiddle- 
John  began  to  sing,  sat  and  cried.  It  came  over  him  so 
"  sorter  queer,"  he  said.  The  parson,  who  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  give  Fiddle-John  a  thundering  reproof  for 
neglect  of  his  family,  the  first  time  he  should  catch  him, 
quite  forgot  his  sinister  purpose  when,  one  day,  he  saw 
the  ballad-singer  seated  under  a  large  tree,  with  a  dozen 
children  climbing  over  him,  and,  with  rollicking  laughter 
tumbling  and  rolling  about  him.  And  when  Fiddle- 
John,  having  quieted  his  audience,  took  two  little  girls 
on  his  lap,  while  the  boys  scrambled  and  fought  for  the 
places  nearest  to  him,  the  parson  could  not  for  the  life 
of  him  recall  the  harsh  things  he  had  meant  to  say  to 
Fiddle-John.  The  fact  was — though,  of  course,  it  is 
scarcely  fair  to  tell — the  ballad  which  Fiddle-John  sang 
to  the  children  reminded  the  parson  of  the  time  (now 
long  ago)  when  he  was  paying  court  to  Mrs.  Parson,  and 
sometimes,  on  slight  provocation,  dropped  into  poetry. 

"  Thy  cheeks  are  like  the  red,  red  rose, 
Thy  hands  are  like  the  lily." 

These  were  the  very  extraordinary  sentiments  which 
the  parson  had,  at  that  remote  period,  professed  toward 
Mrs.  Parson,  and  these  were  the  very  words  which 
Fiddle-John  was  now  singing.  No  wonder  the  parson 
forgot  that  he  had  come  to  scold  Fiddle- John.  "I 
suppose  that  such  good-for-nothings  may  be  good  for 
something,  after  all,"  he  said  to  his  wife  as  he  related  the 
incident  at  the  dinner-table. 


214  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

Fiddle- John  and  his  family  lived  in  a  little  cottage 
close  up  under  the  mountain-side,  where  the  sun  did  not 
reach  until  late  in  the  afternoon.  In  the  winter  they 
were  sometimes  snowed  down  so  completely  that  they 
had  to  work  until  noon  before  they  could  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  sky.  The  two  boys,  Alf  and  Truls,  would  go  early 
in  the  morning  with  their  snow-shovels  and  dig  a  tunnel 
to  the  cow-stable,  where  a  lonely  cow,  a  pig,  and  three 
sheep  were  penned  up.  Their  father  would  then  sit  at 
the  window,  holding  a  lantern,  the  light  of  which  vaguely 
penetrated  the  darkness  and  showed  them  in  what  di- 
rection they  were  digging;  but,  after  awhile,  this  monot- 
onous occupation  wearied  him,  and  he  would  take  his 
fiddle  and  play  the  most  mournful  tunes  he  could  think 
of.  It  never  occurred  to  him  to  lend  a  helping  hand ; 
and  it  never  occurred  to  the  boys  to  ask  him. 

They  accepted  their  fate  without  much  reasoning  ;  it 
seemed  part  of  the  right  order  of  things  that  they  and 
their  mother  should  work,  while  their  father  played  and 
sang.  Ingeborg,  their  mother,  had  nursed  a  kind  of  ten- 
der reverence  for  him  in  their  hearts,  since  they  were 
babes.  He  seemed  scarcely  part  of  the  coarse  and  com- 
mon work-a-day  world  to  which  they  belonged ;  with  his 
gentle,  handsome  face,  and  his  clear  blue  eyes,  he  seemed 
like  some  superior  being  who  conferred  a  favor  upon 
them  by  merely  consenting  to  grant  them  his  company. 
His  songs  travelled  from  one  end  of  the  valley  to  the 
other,  and  everybody  learned  them  by  heart  and  sang 
them  at  weddings,  dances,  and  funerals.  Even  though 
the  parishioners  might  themselves  find  fault  with  Fiddle- 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  215 

John,  and  call  him  quaint  and  queer,  they  stood  up  for 
him  bravely  if  a  stranger  ventured  to  attack  him. 

They  knew  there  was  not  another  such  singer  in  the 
whole  land,  and  it  was  even  said  that  people  had  come 
from  foreign  lands  and  had  made  him  enormous  offers  if 
he  would  go  with  them  and  sing  at  concerts  in  the  great 
foreign  cities.  Thousands  of  dollars  he  might  have 
earned  if  he  had  gone,  but  Fiddle-John  knew  better  than 
to  abandon  the  valley  of  his  birth,  where  he  had  been 
known  since  his  babyhood,  and  trust  himself  to  the  faith- 
less foreign  world.  Thousands  of  dollars!  Only  think 
of  it !  The  very  thought  made  Fiddle-John  dizzy ;  ten 
or  twenty  dollars  would  have  presented  something  defi- 
nite to  his  imagination,  which  he  would  have  compre- 
hended, but  thousands  of  dollars  was  a  blank  enormity 
which  diffused  itself  like  mist  through  his  dazed  brain. 
And  yet  Fiddle-John  could  never  stop  thinking  of  the 
thousands  of  dollars  which  he  might  have  earned,  if  he 
had  gone  with  the  foreigner.  If  the  truth  must  be  told,  he 
himself  would  have  liked  well  enough  to  go ;  and  it  was 
only  the  persuasions  of  Ingeborg,  his  wife,  which  had  re- 
strained him.  "  What  could  you  do  in  the  great  foreign 
world,  John/'  she  had  said  to  him  ;  "  you,  with  your  want 
of  book-learning  and  your  simple  peasant  ways  ?  They 
would  laugh  at  you,  John,  dear,  and  that  would  make  me 
cry,  and  we  should  both  be  miserable.  And  all  the  little 
children  here  in  the  valley,  what  would  they  do  without 
you,  and  who  would  sing  to  them  and  tell  them  stories 
when  you  were  gone  ?  " 

The  last  argument   was   what  decided   Fiddle-John. 


«i6  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

He  did  not  believe  that  people  would  laugh  at  him  in 
the  great  foreign  world,  but  he  did  believe  that  the  chil- 
dren would  miss  him  when  he  was  gone,  and  he  could 
not  bear  to  think  of  someone  else  sitting  under  the 
great  maple-tree  at  the  roadside  and  telling  them  stones. 
For  all  that,  he  regretted  many  a  time  that  he  had  been 
soft-hearted,  and  had  allowed  the  gate  of  glory  to  be 
slammed  in  his  face,  as  he  expressed  it.  He  had  never 
suspected  it  before ;  but  now  the  thought  began  to  grow 
upon  him,  that  he  was  a  great  man,  who  might  have 
gained  honor  and  renown  if  his  wife  had  not  deprived 
him  of  the  opportunity. 

Every  day  the  valley  seemed  to  be  growing  darker 
and  narrower ;  the  sight  of  the  mountains  became  op- 
pressive ;  it  was  as  if  they  weighed  upon  Fiddle-John's 
breast  and  impeded  his  breath.  With  feverish  restless- 
ness he  roamed  about  from  farm  to  farm  and  played, 
until  every  string  on  his  fiddle  seemed  on  the  point  of 
snapping. 

"  I  am  a  great  man,"  he  reflected  indignantly,  "  and 
might  have  earned  thousands  of  dollars.  And  yet  here 
I  go  and  fiddle  for  half-drunken  boors  at  twenty-five 
cents  a  night." 

And  to  drown  the  voices  that  rose  clamorously  out  of 
the  depths  of  his  soul,  he  strummed  the  strings  wildly ; 
and  the  peasants  whirled  madly  around  him,  shouted, 
and  kicked  the  rafters  in  the  ceiling.  The  gentleness 
and  the  mild  radiance  which  had  made  the  children  love 
him  passed  out  of  his  countenance ;  his  eyes  grew  rest* 
less,  his  motions  aimless  and  unsteady.  Sometimes  he 


FIDDLE-JOHiVS  FAMILY.  21 J 

flung  back  his  head  defiantly  and  mumbled  threats  be- 
tween his  teeth ;  at  other  times  he  shuffled  along  de- 
jectedly, or  lay  under  a  tree,  dreaming  of  the  great  world 
which  had  forever  been  closed  to  him. 

"  If  I  had  only  dared ! "  he  whispered  to  himself ; 
"  oh,  if  I  had  only  dared  !  " 

At  that  moment  someone  stepped  up  to  him  and 
shook  him  by  the  shoulder.  "  Hallo,  old  chap,"  said 
the  man,  "you  are  just  the  fellow  I  want!  You  are  the 
party  they  call  Fiddle-John  ?  " 

There  was  something  brisk  and  aggressive  about  the 
stranger  which  almost  frightened  Fiddle-John.  It  was 
easy  to  see  that  he  came  from  afar ;  for  he  had  smartly- 
cut  city-clothes,  a  tall  shiny  hat,  and  a  huge  watch-chain 
from  which  half  a  dozen  seals  and  trinkets  depended. 
Fiddle-John  had  never  seen  anything  so  magnificent ;  he 
was  completely  dazzled.  He  sat  half-raised  upon  his 
elbow  and  stared  at  the  stranger  in  mute  wonder. 
"Well,  Fiddle-John,"  the  latter  went  on  glibly;  "you 
don't  seem  very  cordial  to  an  old  friend.  Or  perhaps 
you  don't  know  me.  Reckon  I've  changed  some  since 
you  used  to  tell  me  stories  about  the  Ashiepattle  and 
the  ogre  who  stowed  his  heart  away  for  safe  keeping 
inside  of  a  duck  in  a  goose-pond,  some  thousands  of 
miles  off.  I  have  often  thought  of  that  story  since. 
Fact  is,  that  is  just  the  kind  of  arrangement  I  am  after. 
I've  too  much  heart,  Fiddle-John,  too  much  heart.  My 
heart  is  always  getting  me  into  trouble,  and  if  I  could 
make  an  arrangement  to  leave  it  behind  here  in  Norway, 
vhile  I  myself  return  to  America,  I  should  like  it  first 


218  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

rate.  You  don't  happen  to  know  of  any  party  who 
would  be  willing  to  keep  it  for  me  during  my  absence, 
hey,  Fiddle-John  ?  " 

The  man  here  laughed  uproariously  and  slapped  Fid- 
dle-John on  the  shoulder. 

"  You  are  the  same  rum  old  customer  you  used  to  be, 
Fiddle-John,"  he  said  in  a  tone  of  cordial  good-fellow- 
ship ;  "  but  you  don't  seem  as  talkative  as  you  used  to 
be — don't  even  tell  me  you  are  glad  to  see  me.  Now, 
that's  what  I  call  hard,  Fiddle-John.  Don't  even  know 
the  name  of  your  little  friend  James  Forrest — or — beg 
your  pardon — Jens  Skoug,  I  mean  to  say,  who  used  to 
climb  on  your  back  and  listened  in  rapture  to  your  won- 
derful voice  and  your  marvellous  fairy  tales." 

A  gleam  of  intelligence  flitted  across  Fiddle-John's 
features,  as  he  heard  the  name  Jens  Skoug,  and  he  arose 
with  bashful  hesitancy  and  extended  his  hand  to  the 
talkative  stranger.  He  remembered  well  that  Jens' 
family  had  emigrated,  some  ten  years  ago,  to  the  United 
States,  and  he  remembered  also  vividly  the  uncouth  lit- 
tle creature  in  skin-patched  trousers  and  ragged  jacket 
who  had  embarked,  at  that  time,  in  the  great  steamer 
that  came  to  take  the  emigrants  off  to  Bergen.  And  now 
this  little  creature  was  a  tall,  dazzling  man  with  a  silk 
hat  and  showy  jewellery,  and  an  address  which  a  prince 
might  have  envied.  Thus  reasoned  Fiddle-John  in  his 
simplicity.  Such  a  marvellous  transformation  he  had 
never  in  all  his  life  witnessed.  The  name  James  Forrest 
which  Jens  had  dropped  by  a  deliberate  accident  also 
impressed  him  strangely.  It  seemed  to  add  greatly  to 


FIDDLE- JOHN* S  FAMILY.  219 

Jens'  magnificence.  A  man  who  could  afford  to  have 
such  a  foreign-sounding  name  must  indeed  be  a  person 
of  enterprise  and  prominence.  It  surrounded  Jens  with 
a  delightful  foreign  flavor  which  captivated  his  friend 
even  more  than  his  brilliant  talk.  "  Jens,"  he  said,  mak- 
ing an  effort  to  conquer  his  diffidence,  "  you  have  grown 
to  be  a  great  man,  indeed.  How  could  you  expect  me 
to  recognize  you  ?  " 

"  A  great  man ! "  exclaimed  Jens,  expanding  agreeably 
under  his  friend's  sincere  flattery ;  "  no,  Fiddle-John,  I 
am  not  a  great  man — that  is,  not  yet,  Fiddle-John. 
But  I  mean  to  become  a  great  man  before  I  die.  In 
America,  where  I  live,  every  man  can  become  great  if  he 
only  chooses  to.  But  I  thought,  being  young  yet,  that  I 
could  afford  to  spend  a  couple  of  months  in  opening  to 
my  countrymen  the  same  road  to  fortune  which  is  open 
to  myself,  before  I  settled  down  to  tackle  life  in  earnest. 
Fact  is,  Fiddle-John,  as  I  said  before,  I  have  too  much 
heart.  My  conscience  would  leave  me  no  peace,  when- 
ever I  thought  of  my  poor  countrymen  who  were  toiling 
here  at  home  for  twenty-five  or  forty  cents  a.  day,  and 
scarcely  could  keep  body  and  soul  together,  while  I  could 
earn  five  and  ten  dollars  a  day  as  readily  as  I  could  blow 
my  nose.  I  positively  cried,  Fiddle-John,  cried  like  a  girl, 
when  I  thought  of  you  and  your  small  chaps  and  of  all 
the  other  poor  fellows  here  in  the  valley  who  had  such  a 
hard  time  of  it,  tearing  off  their  caps  and  bowing  and 
scraping  before  the  parson  and  the  judge  and  all  the  big 
guns,  while  in  America  we  step  up  to  the  President  him- 
self, wring  his  hand  and  say,  '  How  are  you,  old  chap  ? 


220  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

I'll  drop  in  and  take  pot-luck  with  you  to-morrow,  if  you 
don't  happen  to  have  company.'  And  he,  likely  as  not, 
will  say  to  me,  '  Right  welcome  shall  you  be,  Jim ;  bring 
a  couple  of  good  fellows  along  with  you.  We  don't 
stand  on  ceremony  around  the  White  House.  Perhaps 
I  may  be  able  to  hunt  up  a  consulship  or  a  foreign  mis- 
sion for  you,  if  you  should  happen  to  be  out  of  office  and 
pressed  for  cash.'  Now,  that's  what  I  call  good  man- 
ners, Fiddle-John,  and  the  chances  are  ten  to  one  that, 
if  you  call  upon  him  with  a  note  from  me,  he  may  set 
you  up  in  a  right  fat  office,  where  you  may  cock  your 
head  at  parsons  and  judges  and  feel  yourself  as  big  as 
the  very  biggest." 

Fiddle-John  listened  with  eager  ears  and  open  mouth 
to  this  alluring  narrative.  It  did  not  occur  to  him  to 
question  the  truth  of  what  Jens  said,  for  did  not  his  ap- 
pearance and  his  independent  and  dazzling  demeanor 
plainly  show  that  he  was  a  great  and  prosperous  man  ? 
And,  moreover,  how  could  he  have  undergone  such  a 
startling  transformation  in  a  few  years,  if  it  had  not  been 
true,  as  he  said,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
or  some  other  mighty  personage  took  an  interest  in  him. 
Fiddle-John  had  often  heard  it  said  that  in  America  all 
things  were  possible ;  and  he  had  himself  read  letters 
from  persons  who  here  at  home  had  been  poor  tenants  or 
even  day  laborers,  and  who  over  there  had  become  colo- 
nels, and  merchants,  and  legislators.  Therefore,  he  was 
next  in  the  least  surprised  at  the  good  luck  which  had 
overtaken  his  former  friend.  He  was  only  surprised  that 
the  thought  of  going  to  America  had  never  occurred  to  him 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  221 

belbre,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  on  the  spot  to  sell  his 
cow,  his  pig,  and  his  three  sheep,  and  take  the  first  ship 
for  New  York.  He  could  scarcely  stop  to  bid  Jens  Skoug 
good-by,so  eager  was  he  to  rush  home  and  communicate 
his  resolution  to  his  wife  and  children.  He  foresaw  that 
he  would  meet  with  opposition  from  Ingeborg ;  but  he 
steeled  his  heart  against  all  her  entreaties  and  vowed  to 
himself  that  this  time  he  would  have  his  own  way. 
Was  it  not  enough  that  she  had  once  nearly  ruined  his 
life  ?  Should  he  permit  her  again  to  snatch  the  chance 
of  greatness  away  from  him  ? 

He  was  flushed  and  breathless  when  he  reached  his 
little  cottage  up  under  the  mountain-wall.  It  had  never 
looked  so  mean  and  miserable  to  him  as  it  did  at  this 
moment.  The  walls  were  propped  up  on  the  north  and 
west  sides  with  long  beams,  and  dry,  brownish  grass 
from  last  year  grew  in  tufts  along  the  roof-tree  and 
drooped  down  over  the  eaves.  His  two  sons,  Alf  and 
Truls,  were  playing  bear  with  their  little  sister  Karen, 
who  was  seven  years  old.  But  they  rose  hurriedly  when 
they  saw  their  father,  and  brushed  the  sand  from  the 
knees  of  their  trousers.  There  was  something  in  his 
bearing  and  in  the  expression  of  his  face  which  vaguely 
alarmed  them.  He  stooped  no  more  in  walking,  but 
strode  along  proudly  with  uplifted  head. 

"  Boys,"  he  cried,  joyously,  "  run  in  and  tell  your 
mother,  to-morrow  we  are  going  to  America ! "  Inge- 
borg, who  was  just  coming  across  the  yard  with  a  new- 
born lamb  in  her  arms,  paused  in  consternation,  and  gazed 
with  a  frightened  expression  at  her  husband. 


222  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

"  What  has  happened  to  you,  John  ?  "  she  asked,  gently. 
"  I  thought  that  matter  about  the  foreigner  was  settled 
long  ago." 

"  I  tell  you,  no  !  "  he  shouted,  wildly ;  "  it  is  not  settled. 
It  never  will  be  settled  as  long  as  there  is  breath  left  in 
my  body.  This  time  I  mean  to  have  my  own  way. 
Jens  Skoug  has  come  back  from  America,  and  he  says 
that  America  is  the  place  for  me.  I  knew  it  all  along, 
and  whether  you  will  follow  me  or  not,  I  am  going." 

"  Follow  you,  John  ?  Yes,  if  go  you  must,  then  I  will 
follow  you.  But  to  America  I  will  not  go  willingly,  un- 
less I  know  what  we  are  to  do  there,  and  how  we  are  to 
make  our  living.  It  is  a  long,  long  distance,  John,  across 
the  great  ocean  ;  they  speak  a  language  there  which 
neither  you  nor  I  understand." 

Fiddle-John  turned  impatiently  on  his  heel,  as  if  to  say 
that  he  knew  all  that  twaddle  from  of  old ;  but  Ingeborg, 
giving  the  lamb  to  Alf,  went  up  to  him,  laid  her  hand  on 
his  arm,  and  said  : 

"You  and  I  have  lived  together  for  so  many  years, 
John,  and  we  love  each  other  too  well  ever  to  be  happy 
away  from  each  other.  Don't  let  us  speak  harsh  words. 
They  rankle  in  the  bosom  and  cause  pain,  long  after  they 
are  spoken.  If  you  must  go  to  America,  I  will  go  with 
you.  But  I  have  a  feeling  that  I  shall  never  get  there 
alive.  I  beg  of  you,  don't  decide  rashly  and  don't  believe 
all  that  Jens  Skoug  tells  you.  He  was  not  a  truthful 
child,  and  I  doubt  if  he  has  grown  up  to  be  a  good  man. 
Let  us  say  no  more  about  it  to-night.  We  will  sleep  on 
it,  and  see  how  it  will  look  to  us  to-morrow." 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  223 

Fiddle-John  was  not  a  bad  fellow ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
was  quite  soft-hearted  and  easily  moved.  This  wife  of 
his  had  toiled  in  poverty  and  ill-health  all  her  life  long, 
and  he  had  never  offered  to  lift  a  finger  to  help  her. 
Yet  she  loved  him,  accepting  her  lot  meekly,  and 
never  uttering  a  word  of  reproach  against  him.  He  had 
never  observed  before  how  thin  and  worn  she  looked, 
how  hollow  her  cheeks  were,  and  how  large  her  eyes. 
He  felt  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  a  pang  of  remorse. 
He  had  not  been  a  good  husband,  he  thought ;  not  as 
good  as  he  might  have  been.  But  then  he  was  a  great 
man,  and  great  men  were  never  the  best  of  husbands. 
And  when  he  reached  America,  and  his  greatness  became 
generally  recognized,  and  fortune  began  to  smile  upon 
him,  then  he  would  shower  kindness  upon  her,  and  she 
would  be  rewarded  a  thousand-fold  for  all  she  had  suf- 
fered. Surely,  he  would  turn  over  a  new  leaf — in  Amer- 
ica. 

Thus  Fiddle-John  consoled  himself,  when  his  con- 
science grew  uneasy.  When  only  they  got  to  America, 
he  reasoned,  then  everything  would  be  right.  He  would 
have  started  without  delay  if  Ingeborg's  health  had  not 
failed  so  rapidly  that  the  doctor  positively  forbade  her  to 
think  of  travelling.  The  look  of  suffering  and  sweet  for- 
bearance upon  her  face  seemed  a  perpetual  reproach  to 
Fiddle-John,  and  he  roamed  restlessly  from  one  end  of 
the  valley  to  the  other,  playing,  singing,  and  telling  his 
stories,  in  order  to  earn  money  for  the  voyage,  he  said 
to  his  sons  ;  but,  in  reality,  to  escape  from  the  unspoken 
reproach  of  his  wife's  countenance.  But  the  day  soon 


224  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

came  when  he  needed  no  longer  to  flee  from  her  pres* 
ence.  One  bright  spring  day,  just  as  the  snow  was 
melting,  and  the  bare  spots  on  the  meadows  steamed  in 
the  sun,  Ingeborg  closed  her  weary  eyes  forever ;  and  a 
few  days  later  she  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  shadow  of  the 
old  church  down  on  the  headland,  where  the  song-thrush 
warbles  through  the  brief  Arctic  summer  night. 

II. 

Down  in  the  valley  the  Easter  bells  were  chiming ; 
the  bell-strokes  trembled  through  the  clear,  sun-steeped 
air.  There  was  commotion  in  the  valley,  too,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  it  was  Easter  Sunday.  Out  in  the  middle 
of  the  fiord  lay  a  huge  black  steamer,  which  panted  and 
shrieked,  as  if  it  were  in  distress,  and  sent  volumes  of 
gray  smoke  out  of  its  chimneys.  Around  about  little 
black  fragments  of  coal-dust  were  drizzling  through  the 
air  and  swimming  on  the  water ;  and  the  gulls  which 
kept  whirling  about  the  smoke-stacks  were  quite  shocked 
when  they  caught  the  reflections  of  themselves  in  the 
tide ;  with  wild  screams  they  plunged  into  the  fiord. 
They  probably  mistook  themselves  for  crows. 

The  pier,  which  broke  the  line  of  the  beach  at  the 
point  of  the  headland,  was  thronged  with  men,  women, 
and  children.  The  men  were  talking  earnestly  together ; 
most  of  the  women  were  weeping,  and  the  children  were 
gazing  impatiently  toward  the  steamboat  and  tugging 
at  their  mother's  skirts.  Some  twenty  or  thirty  boats, 
heavily  laden  with  chests  and  boxes,  lay  at  the  end  of 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  225 

the  pier;  and  one  after  another,  as  it  was  filled  with 
people,  put  off  and  was  rowed  out  to  the  steamer.  Only 
the  old  folk  remained  behind  ;  with  heavy  hearts  and 
tottering  steps  they  walked  up  the  sloping  beach  and 
stood  at  the  roadside,  straining  their  eyes  to  catch  a  last 
glimpse  of  the  son  or  daughter,  whom  they  were  never 
to  see  again.  Some  flung  themselves  down  in  the  sand 
and  sobbed  aloud  ;  others  stooped  over  the  weeping  ones 
and  tried  to  console  them. 

At  last  there  was  but  one  little  group  left  on  the  pier ; 
and  that  was  composed  of  Fiddle-John  and  his  three 
children,  Jens  Skoug,  the  emigration  agent,  was  stand- 
ing in  a  boat,  shouting  to  them  to  hurry,  and  the  boys 
were  scrambling  down  the  slippery  stairs  leading  to  the 
water,  while  the  father  followed  more  deliberately,  carry- 
ing the  little  girl  in  his  arms. 

There  was  a  Babel  of  voices  on  board ;  and  poor 
Fiddle-John  and  his  sons,  who  had  never  heard  such 
noise  in  their  lives  before,  stood  dazed  and  bewildered, 
and  had  scarcely  presence  of  mind  to  get  out  of  the  way 
of  the  iron  chains  and  pulleys  which  were  hoisting  on 
board  enormous  boxes  of  merchandise,  horses,  cattle, 
pigs,  and  a  variety  of  other  commodities.  It  was  not 
until  they  found  themselves  stowed  away  in  a  dark  cor- 
ner of  the  steerage,  upon  a  couple  of  shelves,  by  courtesy 
styled  berths,  which  had  been  assigned  to  them,  that 
they  were  able  to  realize  where  they  were,  and  that  they 
were  about  to  leave  the  land  of  their  fathers  and  plunge 
blindly  into  a  wild  and  foreign  world  which  they  had 
scarcely  in  fancy  explored. 
15 


226  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

The  first  day  on  board  passed  without  any  incident 
The  next  day,  they  reached  Hamburg,  and  were  trans- 
ferred to  a  much  larger  and  more  comfortable  steamer, 
named  the  Ruckert,  and  before  evening  the  low  land  ct 
North  Germany  traced  itself  only  as  a  misty  line  on  the 
distant  horizon.  Night  and  day  followed  in  their  mo- 
notony ;  Russian  Mennonites,  Altenburg  peasants,  and 
all  sorts  of  queer  and  outlandish-looking  people  passed  in 
kaleidoscopic  review  before  the  eyes  of  the  astonished 
Norsemen.  It  was  the  third  day  at  sea,  I  think,  when 
they  had  got  somewhat  accustomed  to  their  novel  sur- 
roundings, that  a  little  incident  occurred  which  was 
fraught  with  serious  consequences  to  Fiddle-John's  fam- 
ily. 

The  gong  had  just  sounded  for  dinner,  and  the  emi- 
grants were  hurrying  down-stairs  with  tin  cups  and  bowls 
in  their  hands.  The  children  were  themselves  hungry, 
and  needed  no  persuasion  to  follow  the  general  example. 
They  unpacked  their  big  tin  cups,  which  looked  like 
wash-basins,  and  took  their  seats  at  an  interminably  long 
table,  while  the  stewards  went  around  with  buckets  full 
of  steaming  soup,  which  they  poured  into  each  emi- 
grant's basin,  as  it  was  extended  to  them,  by  means  of 
great  iron  dippers.  Many  of  the  Russians  were  either 
so  hungry  or  so  ill-mannered  that  they  could  not  wait 
until  their  turn  came,  but  rushed  forward,  clamoring  for 
soup  in  hoarse,  guttural  tones ;  and  one  of  the  stewards, 
after  having  shouted  to  them  in  German  to  take  their 
places  at  the  tables,  finally,  by  way  of  argument,  gave 
one  of  them  a  blow  on  the  head  with  his  iron  dipper. 


FIDDLE-JOHN'S  FAMILY.  2V) 

Then  there  arose  a  great  commotion,  and  everybody  sup- 
posed that  the  angry  Mennonites  would  have  attacked  the 
offending  steward.  But  instead  of  that,  the  crowd  scat- 
tered and  quietly  took  their  places,  as  they  had  been 
commanded.  They  were  an  odd  lot,  those  Mennonites, 
thought  the  Norse  boys,  who  did  not  know  that  their 
religion  forbade  them  to  fight,  and  compelled  them  to 
pocket  injuries  without  resentment. 

Next  to  Alf,  on  the  same  bench,  sat  a  swarthy  boy, 
fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old,  with  yellow  cheeks  and 
large  black  eyes.  He  had  a  thin  iron  chain  about  his 
wrist  and  seemed  every  now  and  then  to  direct  his  atten- 
tion to  something  under  the  table.  Alf  concluded  that, 
in  all  probability,  he  had  his  bundle  of  clothes  or  his 
trunk  hidden  under  his  feet.  But  he  was  not  long  per- 
mitted to  remain  in  this  error.  Just  as  the  steward  ap- 
proached them  and  extended  the  long-handled  dipper, 
filled  with  soup,  a  fierce  growl  was  heard  under  the  bench, 
and  a  half-grown  black  bear-cub  rushed  out  and  made  a 
plunge  for  his  legs.  The  frightened  steward  made  a 
leap,  which  had  the  effect  of  upsetting  the  soup-pail  over 
his  assailant's  head. 

A  wild  roar  of  pain  followed,  and  everybody  jumped 
on  tables  and  benches  to  see  the  sport ;  while  the  Savoy- 
ard boy  who  owned  the  bear  darted  forward,  his  eyes 
flashing  with  anger,  and  hurled  a  flood  of  unintelligible 
imprecations  at  the  knight  of  the  soup-pail.  There  was 
a  sudden  change  of  tone,  as  he  stooped  down  over  his 
scalded  and  dripping  pet,  and,  showering  endearing 
names  upon  it,  hugged  it  to  his  bosom. 


228  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

The  emigrants  jeered  and  shouted,  the  waiters  swore, 
and  the  purser,  who  had  been  summoned  to  restore  or. 
der,  elbowed  his  way  ruthlessly  through  the  crowd  until 
he  reached  the  author  of  the  tumult. 

"  How  do  you  dare,  you  insolent  beggar,  to  bring  a 
bear  into  the  steerage  ?  "  he  cried,  seizing  the  boy  by  the 
collar,  and  shaking  him.  "  Who  permitted  you  to  bring 
such  a  dangerous  beast " 

His  harangue  was  here  suddenly  interrupted  by  the 
bear,  which  calmly  rose  on  its  hind  legs  and,  showing  its 
teeth  in  an  unpleasant  manner,  prepared  to  resent  such 
disrespectful  language.  The  purser  took  to  his  heels, 
while  the  steerage  rang  with  jeers  and  laughter,  and  f;he 
Savoyard  had  all  he  could  do  to  prevent  his  friend  from 
pursuing  him.  The  Norse  boys,  whose  sympathy  vras 
entirely  with  the  bear  and  his  master,  quite  forgot  their 
hunger  in  their  excitement  over  the  stirring  incident ; 
and  when  the  Savoyard,  feeling  that  the  steerage  vras 
scarcely  a  safe  place  for  him  after  what  had  occurred, 
mounted  the  stairs,  dragging  his  bear  after  him,  they 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  follow  him  at  a  re- 
spectful distance.  But  when  they  saw  him  crouching 
down  behind  the  big  smokestack  and  gazing  timidly 
about  him  while  he  wiped  the  bear's  head  and  face  with 
his  sleeve,  they  could  not  conquer  the  impulse  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  so  distinguished  and  interesting  a 
personage.  They  accordingly  sidled  up  slowly,  holding 
their  sister  between  them,  and  were  soon  face  to  face  with 
the  Savoyard. 

"  What   is  your  name  ? "  asked   Truls  with  a  bold- 


FIDDLE- JOHN^S  FAMILY.  229 

ness  which  raised  him  immensely  in  his  brother's  es- 
teem. 

The  Savoyard  shook  his  head. 

"  What  do  people  call  you  when  they  speak  to  you  ?  " 
Truls  repeated,  raising  his  voice  and  drawing  a  step 
nearer. 

"Non  capisco.  Je  ne  sais  pas"  answered  the  boy  in 
Italian  and  French,  giving  them  the  choice  of  the  only 
two  languages  he  knew. 

"  Capisco,"  Truls  went  on  confidently  in  his  Norse  dia- 
lect ;  "  that  is  a  very  funny  name.  I  am  afraid  you  don't 
understand  me.  It  wasn't  the  bear's  name  I  asked  for ; 
it  was  your  own." 

The  Savoyard  shrugged  his  shoulders  expressively, 
then  poured  out  a  torrent  of  speech  which  bewildered 
his  Norse  friends  exceedingly.  If  the  bear  had  opened 
its  mouth  and  addressed  them  in  the  ursine  language,  it 
would  not  have  succeeded  in  being  more  unintelligible. 

"  You  are  a  very  funny  chap,"  Truls  remarked  with  a 
discouraged  air.  "  Why  don't  you  talk  like  a  Chris- 
tian?" 

He  was  determined  to  make  no  more  advances  to  so 
irrational  a  creature,  and  was  about  to  lead  the  way  back 
to  the  dinner-table,  when  the  arrival  of  the  purser  and 
the  third  officer  of  the  ship  again  arrested  his  attention. 
The  purser  had  evidently  been  hunting  for  the  Savoy- 
ard ;  for,  as  he  caught  sight  of  him,  he  made  an  excla- 
mation in  German  and  called  out  to  the  third  officer  : 

"  There  is  the  vagabond !  Make  him  understand, 
please,  that  his  bear  must  be  shot  and  that  he  must  get 


230  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

out  of  the  way.  He  has  taken  out  no  ticket  for  hisbeastj 
and  we  don't  take  that  kind  of  freight  gratis  !  " 

:  The  third  officer,  who  spoke  French  fluently,  explained 
the  purport  of  the  purser's  remarks  to  the  Savoyard,  but 
in  a  gentle  and  kindly  manner  which  almost  deprived 
them  of  their  cruel  meaning.  The  boy,  however,  made 
no  motion  to  stir,  but  remained  calmly  sitting,  with  his 
arm  thrown  over  the  bear's  neck  and  one  hand  playing 
with  his  paws. 

\  The  officer,  seeing  that  his  words  had  no  effect,  re- 
peated his  remark  with  greater  emphasis.  A  startled 
look  in  the  boy's  eyes  gave  evidence  that  he  was  begin- 
ning to  comprehend.  But  yet  he  remained  immovable. 

I  "  Get  out  of  the  way,  I  tell  you  ! "  cried  the  purser, 
drawing  a  revolver  from  his  hip-pocket  and  pointing  it 
at  the  bear's  head.  "  I  have  orders  to  kill  this  beast, 
and  I  mean  to  do  it  now.  Quick,  now,  I  don't  want  to 
hurt  you ! " 

The  boy  gazed  for  a  moment  with  a  fascinated  stare  at 
the  muzzle  of  the  terrible  weapon,  then  sprang  up  and 
flung  himself  over  the  bear,  covering  it  with  his  own 
body.  The  animal,  not  understanding  what  all  this  ado 
was  about,  took  it  to  mean  a  romp,  and  began  to  lick  his 
master's  face  and  to  claw  him  with  his  limp  paws. 

,  "  Well,  I  have  given  you  fair  warning ! "  the  purser 
went  on,  excitedly,  as  he  vainly  tried  to  find  an  exposed 
Vital  spot  on  the  bear  at  which  he  could  fire.  "  If  you 
don't  look  out,  you  will  have  to  take  the  consequences." 
A  large  crowd  had  now  gathered  about  them,  and  a 
loud  grumble  of  displeasure  made  itself  heard  round 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  231 

about.  The  purser  began  to  perceive  that  the  sentiment 
was  against  him,  and  that  it  would  scarcely  be  safe  for 
him  to  execute  his  threat.  Yet  he  found  it  inconsistent 
with  his  dignity  to  retire  from  the  contest,  and  he  was 
just  pausing  to  deliberate  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  a  small 
fist  struck  his  wrist  and  the  pistol  flew  out  of  his  hand 
and  dropped  over  the  gunwale  into  the  sea.  A  loud 
cheer  broke  from  the  crowd.  The  purser  stood  utterly 
discomfited,  scarcely  knowing  whether  he  should  be  angry 
with  his  small  assailant  or  laugh  at  him.  He  would, 
perhaps,  have  done  the  latter  if  the  cheering  of  the  peo- 
ple and  their  hostile  attitude  toward  him  had  not  roused 
his  temper. 

"  Bravo,  Tom  Thumb  1 "  they  cried.  "  At  him  again ! 
don't  be  afraid  of  the  brute  because  he  has  got  brass  but- 
tons on  his  coat." 

"  Good  for  you,  Ashiepattle ! "  the  Norwegians 
3houted ;  "  go  it  again  !  We'll  stand  by  you  ! " 

It  was  Truls,  Fiddle-John's  son,  who  had  thus  sud- 
denly become  the  hero  of  the  hour ;  he  had  acted  in  the 
hot  indignation  of  the  moment  and  was  now  abashed  and 
bewildered  at  the  sensation  he  was  making.  He  looked 
anxiously  about  for  his  brother  and  sister,  and  as  soon  as  he 
caught  sight  of  them,  was  about  to  make  his  escape  when 
the  purser  seized  him  by  the  collar  and  bade  him  remain. 

"  You  are  a  nice  one,  to  be  attacking  your  betters,  who 
have  never  given  you  any  provocation,"  he  said  in  Ger- 
man, which  Truls,  fortunately,  did  not  understand.  "  I 
am  going  to  take  you  to  the  captain,  and  he  will  have  you 
punished  for  assault." 


232  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

He  made  a  motion  to  drag  the  struggling  boy  away> 
but  the  crowd  closed  about  him  on  all  sides,  and  pressed 
in  upon  him  with  angry  shouts  and  gestures.  The  third 
officer,  who  had  so  far  taken  no  part  in  the  proceedings, 
now  stepped  up  to  the  purser  and  begged  him  to  release 
the  boy. 

"  Of  course,"  he  said,  "  you  are  in  the  right ;  but  if  I 
were  you,  Ijwould  waive  my  right  this  time.  It's  hardly 
worth  while  making  a  row  about  so  small  a  matter ;  and 
it  is  always  bad  policy  to  go  to  the  captain  with  squab- 
bles and  grievances,  especially  when  they  might  so  easily 
have  been  avoided.  I  assure  you,  you  will  only  injure 
yourself  by  doing  it." 

They  talked  for  a  minute  together,  while  the  ever- 
increasing  throng  surged  hither  and  thither  about  them. 
Whether  purposely  or  not,  the  irate  purser,  in  the  zeal  of 
his  argument,  released  his  hold  on  Truls'  collar,  and  the 
liberated  boy  dodged  away,  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
was  soon  lost  in  the  crowd.  The  Savoyard  and  his  bear 
had  long  before  seized  the  opportunity  to  withdraw  from 
the  public  gaze. 

III. 

The  life  on  shipboard  did  not  agree  with  Fiddle- John. 
Like  a  spoiled  child,  he  was  restless  and  unhappy  when 
he  was  unnoticed.  All  day  long  he  sat  on  the  top  of  a 
co*l  of  rope  in  the  forecastle  of  the  ship  and  sang.  The 
forecastle  was  often  deserted,  and  there  were  probably 
not  many  among  the  emigrants  who  would  have  been 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  233 

capable  of  judging  whether  his  voice  was  in  any  way  ex, 
traordinary.  And  yet,  one  there  was  who  found  an  un- 
told amount  of  comfort  in  listening  to  that  clear,  sweet 
tenor  of  Fiddle-John's,  and  that  one  was  the  Savoyard 
boy.  It  had  been  his  constant  effort,  since  his  encounter 
with  the  purser,  to  make  himself  as  inconspicuous  as 
possible,  and  it  would  have  gratified  him  much  if  he  had 
possessed  some  means  of  making  the  bear  invisible.  As 
the  forecastle  was  the  least  visited  portion  of  the  ship,  he 
had  chosen  to  hide  himself  there  behind  the  anchor- 
cable. 

He  trembled  whenever  anyone  approached,  and  threw 
the  end  of  the  tarpaulin  which  covered  the  deck-freight 
over  his  friend,  the  bear.  The  only  people  whose  com- 
pany did  not  incommode  him  were  Fiddle-John  and  his 
children,  for  whom  he  testified  his  devotion  by  smiles 
and  gestures  and  all  sorts  of  endearing  Italian  diminu- 
tives, which,  on  account  of  his  caressing  tones,  even  a 
dumb  brute  could  not  have  failed  to  appreciate.  After 
a  long  and  exciting  pantomime,  Truls  ascertained  that 
his  name  was  Annibale  Petrucchio  and  that  -his  bear 
gloried  in  the  name  of  Garibaldi. 

Both  boys  felt  that  they  had  made  great  progress  in 
each  other's  friendship  when  these  facts  had  been  estab- 
lished, and  another  hour  of  dumb  show,  intersprinkled 
with  exclamations,  resulted  in  a  still  more  astonishing 
revelation,  which  was  that  Annibale  and  his  friend  slept 
every  night  on  deck,  because  they  feared  to  arouse  once 
more  the  purser's  displeasure  by  invading  the  steerage. 
Sometimes  Annibale  curled  himself  up  with  Garibaldi 


234  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

within  the  coil  of  the  anchor-cable — he  jumped  up,  drag* 
ging  the  bear  after  him,  to  show  the  attitude  in  which 
they  slept — but  when  it  rained,  or  when  the  sea  was  high 
enough  to  sprinkle  the  deck,  they  both  crept  under  the 
deck-freight  tarpaulin,  where  they  had  made  themselves 
a  little  house  between  two  trunks  which  they  had  pushed 
apart.  The  only  trouble  was  that  the  April  nights  were 
very  cold — Annibale  shivered  all  over  to  show  how  cold 
he  was — and  anchor-cables  and  deck-freight  were  not 
particularly  soft  to  sleep  upon. 

As  Alf  and  Truls  became  duly  impressed  with  the 
unpleasantness  of  the  Savoyard's  situation,  they  took 
counsel  in  order  to  ascertain  how  they  might  relieve  his 
distress.  But  all  the  plans  that  were  suggested  were 
found  to  be  risky,  and  night  came  before  they  arrived  at 
a  decision.  The  weather  had  been  raw  and  blustery  all 
the  afternoon,  and  the  officer  on  the  bridge  had  been 
looking  every  minute  uneasily  at  the  falling  barometer. 
After  sunset  the  gale  increased  in  violence  and  the  ship 
pitched  and  rolled  in  the  heavy  sea.  In  the  steerage 
there  was  a  terrible  commotion ;  women  prayed  and 
screamed  and  moaned,  children  of  all  ages  joined  in  the 
chorus,  the  lamps  swung  forward  and  backward  in  their 
brass  frames,  and  bottles,  glasses,  and  loose  crockery 
made  a  terrible  racket,  sliding  to  starboard  and  back 
again  to  port  with  every  motion  of  the  ship.  The  wind 
howled  in  the  rigging,  and  every  now  and  then  a  big 
wave  swept  across  the  deck  and  poured  out  through  the 
scupper-holes. 

Alf  and  Truls,  who  had  been  lying  awake  for  hours  lis- 


FIDDLE- JOHN^S  FAMILY.  235 

tening  to  the  hollow  boom  of  the  waves  and  the  shriek- 
ing of  the  wind,  conversed  in  a  whisper  about  the  poor 
Savoyard,  who  had  to  be  on  deck  in  that  terrible 
weather,  and  they  finally  summoned  courage  to  creep 
toward  the  ladder  and  slowly  to  mount  it,  tightly  clutch- 
ing each  other's  hands.  It  was  a  risky  undertaking,  and 
their  hearts  stuck  in  their  throats  as  they  clung  to  the 
door-knob,  hesitating  whether  they  should  open  the  door. 
Without  knowing,  however,  they  must  have  given  the 
knob  a  twist ;  for  suddenly  the  door  swung  open  with  a 
tremendous  bang,  and  Truls  was  flung  across  the  deck 
against  the  bulwarks  with  such  force  that  for  an  instant 
he  scarcely  knew  whether  he  had  lighted  on  his  head  01 
his  feet. 

He  picked  himself  up,  however,  without  any  serious 
damage,  and  as  there  was  a  momentary  lull  in  the  storm, 
he  half  rolled,  half  crept  up  toward  the  prow,  where  a 
couple  of  lanterns  were  swinging  in  the  fore-royal  stays. 
Nevertheless  it  was  so  dark  that  he  could  not  discern  an 
object  ahead  of  him,  and  only  groped  his  way  along  the 
bulwarks,  until  he  stumbled  upon  a  demoralized  mass  of 
rope  which  he  knew  to  be  the  anchor-cable. 

"  Annibale  !  "  he  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  anv 
you  here  ?  "  But  before  he  had  time  to  receive  a  repl)' 
the  ship  plunged  into  a  monstrous  wave,  which  rose  in  *« 
storm  of  spray  and  drenched  the  whole  forecastle  up  tc 
the  mainmast.  Truls,  in  his  effort  to  keep  his  footing, 
tumbled  forward  and  grabbed  hold  of  something  wet  and 
hairy,  which  slid  along  with  him  for  a  couple  of  yards, 
and  then  was  hauled  back  by  some  unseen  force.  The 


236  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

boy  crawled  along  in  the  same  direction  and  shouted 
once  more,  "  Annibale  !  where  are  you  ?  v  And  a  voice 
close  to  his  ear  answered  : 

"Ah,  Monsieur  Truls  >  Garibaldi et  moi,  nous  sommes  d 
demi  morts."  * 

"  Now,  don't  jabber  at  me,  Annibale,"  Truls  observed, 
making  his  voice  heard  above  the  wind  ;  "  but  if  you  will 
come  along  with  me,  Alf  and  I  will  give  you  half  of  our 
berth ;  and  Garibaldi  can  sleep  at  our  feet." 

Whether  Annibale  understood  the  words  or  not,  he 
could  not  fail  to  comprehend  the  friendly  gestures  which 
accompanied  them.  He  eagerly  seized  Truls'  hand  and 
they  plunged  bravely  forward,  but  slipped  on  the  wet 
deck,  and  the  bear  and  the  boys  slid  with  great  speed  in 
the  direction  of  the  descent  to  the  steerage.  They  were 
drenched  to  the  skin  and  considerably  bruised  when,  af- 
ter several  unsuccessful  efforts,  they  seized  the  door-knob. 
Alf,  as  it  turned  out,  feeling  too  ill  to  keep  watch,  had 
already  preceded  them  to  bed.  Garibaldi,  who  seemed 
keenly  conscious  of  his  disgrace  since  the  day  he  molested 
the  purser,  slunk  along  as  meekly  as  possible,  and  only 
now  and  then  shook  his  wet  skin  and  coughed  in  a  dis- 
pirited fashion.  He  was  not  as  grateful,  moreover,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  when  he  was  assigned  his 
place  on  the  straw  at  the  foot  of  the  berth,  but  gradually 
pushed  himself  upward  until  his  nose  nearly  touched  that 
of  his  master;  whereupon  he  curled  himself  up  comfort- 
ably and  went  to  sleep.  It  was  a  very  pretty  sight  to 

*  "  Ah,  Mr.  Truls,  Garibaldi  and  I  are  half  dead." 


FIDDLE- JOHN* S  FAMILY.  237 

see  the  blond  Norse  boys  and  the  swarthy  Savoyard 
peacefully  reposing  on  the  same  pillow,  with  the  shaggy 
head  of  the  bear  between  them,  and  the  Savoyard  half 
unconsciously  clutching  his  pet  in  his  embrace. 

Toward  morning  the  storm  began  to  abate,  and  the 
dim  light  peeped  in  through  the  port-holes.  The  steer- 
age was  comparatively  quiet.  Fiddle-John  arose  and 
went  on  deck ;  a  strange  oppression  had  come  over  him. 
The  dim,  gray  light,  the  all-enveloping  dampness,  and 
the  incessant  throbbing  and  clanking  of  the  machinery 
wrought  upon  his  sensitive  soul,  until  he  seemed  in  dan- 
ger of  going  mad.  The  world  seemed  so  vast  and  so 
empty !  The  waves  heaved  and  wrestled  in  their  gray 
monotony,  until  it  made  him  dizzy  to  look  at  them. 
Merely  to  rid  himself  of  this  terrible  oppression,  Fiddle- 
John  lifted  up  his  voice  and  sang  wildly  against  the  wind  ; 
his;  beautiful  tenor  seemed  to  cut  through  the  fog  like  a 
bright  sword  and  to  flash  and  ring  under  the  sky.  His 
soul  expanded  with  his  voice ;  the  sun  broke  forth  from 
the  clouds,  and  he  felt  once  more  free  and  happy.  He 
scarcely  knew  how  long  he  sang ;  but  when  by  chance  he 
turned  about,  he  saw  to  his  surprise  that  a  crowd  of  well- 
dressed  cabin  passengers  had  gathered  about  him.  His 
three  children  stood  holding  one  another's  hands,  look- 
ing in  astonishment  at  the  fine  ladies  shivering  in  fur- 
trimmed  cloaks,  and  wondered  why  their  father  was  at- 
tracting so  much  attention. 

"  Charming!"  "Wonderful!"  "Magnificent!"  ex- 
claimed the  fine  people,  when  Fiddle-John  had  stopped 
singing ;  and  a  portly  American  gentleman,  with  gray 


238  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

side-whiskers,  who  seemed  more  enthusiastic  than  tre 
rest,  gave  him  a  slap  on  his  shoulder,  and  said  that  if  he 
himself  were  ten  years  younger,  he  would  undertake  to 
make  a  fortune  out  of  Fiddle-John,  which,  of  course,  was 
a  very  generous  offer  on  his  part.  Jens  Skoug,  the  emi- 
gration agent,  translated  the  remark  ;  and  as  the  Ameri- 
can seemed  to  have  more  to  say  to  Fiddle-John,  offered 
his  services  as  interpreter. 

"  What  is  your  trade  ?  "  asked  the  gentleman. 

"  I  sing  and  play,"  said  Fiddle-John. 

"  But  I  mean,  how  do  you  make  your  living  ? "  re- 
peated his  questioner. 

"  By  singing  and  playing,"  said  Fiddle-John. 

"  You  won't  make  much  of  a  living  by  that  in  Amer- 
ica ;  people  won't  understand  you,  unless  you  sing  in 
English,"  remarked  the  American. 

It  had  actually  never  before  occurred  to  Fiddle-John 
that  his  songs  would  be  unintelligible  in  America.  He 
had  supposed  that  music  appealed  equally  to  all  nations 
and  needed  no  interpreter.  The  remark  of  his  new 
friend,  therefore,  was  a  positive  shock  to  him,  and  it  took 
him  fully  a  minute  to  recover  from  its  effect. 

"  I  will  sing  to  the  President  of  America,"  he  said,  in 
an  injured  tone.  "  Jens  Skoug,  there,  says  that  the 
President  will  make  me  a  great  man  when  he  hears  my 
voice." 

It  did  not  suit  Skoug's  convenience  to  translate  this 
remark  correctly ;  and  he  observed  instead,  with  a  confi- 
dential air,  that  Fiddle- John  was  a  harmless  monomaniac 
who  had  got  it  into  his  head  that  he  wanted  to  sing  to  the 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  239 

President.  The  American  was  evidently  amused  at  this, 
and  said,  with  a  laugh,  that  he  feared  the  President  was 
not  so  great  an  authority  in  music  as  in  affairs  of  state. 

Fiddle-John  was  extremely  puzzled  and  a  little  dis- 
tressed at  the  jocose  manner  of  the  American  gentleman ; 
it  could  scarcely  be  possible  that  he  was  making  fun  of 
him.  But  American  ways  were  probably  different  from 
Norwegian  ways,  and  he  would  therefore  not  be  hasty  in 
taking  offence. 

"  I  know  a  great  many  songs,"  he  said,  with  a  deter- 
mination to  appear  amiable;  "and  what  is  more,  I  can 
make  songs  about  anything  you  choose." 

"Aha,  you  are  a  sort  of  poet — an  improvisatore,  as 
the  Italians  say.  Now  I  begin  to  understand.  Perhaps 
you  can  make  a  song  about  me,"  suggested  the  American. 

"  Indeed  I  can  !  "  cried  the  Norseman. 

"  Well,  let  us  have  it  !  "  urged  the  other. 

Fiddle-John  never  needed  much  urging  to  sing.  He 
straightened  himself  up,  flung  back  his  head  and  was 
about  to  begin,  when  his  son  Truls,  whose  ears  had  been 
burning  uncomfortably  during  the  whole  interview,  seized 
his  father's  hand  and  entreated  him  not  to  sing. 

"  Don't  sing  to  that  man,  father,"  he  said.  "  He  is 
making  sport  of  you.  Please  don't!  Both  Alf  and  I 
are  distressed  to  think  that  the  gentleman  should  dare 
to  speak  to  you  as  he  does.  He  thinks " 

"  Get  out  of  the  way,  sonny !  No  one  is  talking  to 
you,"  interrupted  Jens  Skoug,  pushing  Truls  rudely 
aside ;  but  the  boy,  fired  with  sudden  wrath,  wheeled 
quickly  around. 


240  THE  MODERN    VIKINGS. 

"It  is  you  who  have  brought  all  this  misery  upon  vis," 
he  cried,  excitedly.  "  I  know  you  mean  to  desert  us  as 
soon  as  we  get  to  New  York,  and  I  only  wish  I  were  big 
enough  to  give  you  the  thrashing  you  deserve,  now,  on 
the  spot." 

"  Why,  little  chickens  can  crow  like  big  roosters  !  "  Jens 
Skoug  exclaimed  ;  "  but  if  you  don't  keep  a  civil  tongue 
in  your  head,"  he  added,  with  a  menacing  scowl,  "  I  will 
make  you  dance  a  jig  to  a  very  lively  tune — the  hazel 
tune ;  perhaps  you  may  have  heard  of  it." 

This  was  more  than  Truls  could  stand ;  and  with 
clinched  fists,  a  flushed  face,  and  eyes  blazing  with  anger, 
he  rushed  at  the  exasperating  emigration  agent.  But  the 
American,  who  thought  that  the  fun  had  now  gone  far 
enough,  seized  the  angry  boy  by  the  collar  and  restrained 
him.  "  Hold  on,  my  little  fellow !  "  he  said  ;  "  it  is 
time  to  stop  for  refreshments.  You  are  a  lively  little 
customer  for  your  years.  I  don't  know  exactly  what  you 
are  mad  about,  but  I  can  assure  you  it  isn't  worth  fight- 
ing for.  Now,  simmer  a  little,  and  then  cool  down." 

During  this  scene,  Fiddle -John  had  been  standing 
irresolutely  shifting  his  weight  from  one  foot  to  the  other 
and  gazing  with  a  bewildered  air  at  Jens  and  Truls.  He 
could  not  understand  what  had  happened  to  arouse  the 
anger  of  his  son,  and  his  excited  words  had  scarcely  fur- 
nished him  with  a  clew  to  the  mystery. 

"  Why — why — why,  don't  you  want  me  to  sing, 
Truls  ?  "  he  stammered,  helplessly.  "  I  am  sure  I  sing 
as  well  as  anybody,  and  need  not  be  ashamed  to  be 
heard." 


FIDDLE-JOHN'S  FAMILY.  241 

"  Oh,  it  isn't  that,  father ! "  the  son  responded  in  a 
tone  of  tender  consideration,  which  appealed  strongly  to 
the  American.  "  You  sing  beautifully  ;  but  these  peo- 
ple would  not  understand  you — and— and — wait  till  we 
are  alone,  father;  I  will  tell  you  what  I  mean.'' 

It  was  the  manner,  rather  than  the  words,  of  the  boy 
which  gave  the  stranger  an  insight  into  the  relations 
which  existed  between  him  and  his  father ;  and  what 
he  saw,  and  still  more  what  he  inferred,  interested  him 
greatly.  There  was  a  diffidence  in  Truls'  tone,  and  at 
the  same  time  an  air  of  protectorship,  which,  in  one  of 
his  years,  was  quite  touching.  The  American  could  not 
help  admiring  his  spirited  behavior,  and  he  only  wished 
he  could  have  told  him  how  far  he  was  from  wishing  to 
humiliate  either  him  or  his  father.  But  he  had  lost  con- 
fidence in  Mr.  Skoug  as  an  interpreter,  and  he  saw  no 
one  else  who,  for  the  moment,  could  take  that  gentle- 
man's place.  He  therefore  put  his  hand  caressingly  on 
the  boy's  head  and,  trusting  to  his  intuition  rather  than 
his  knowledge  of  English,  said  : 

"  If  you  should  ever  happen  to  need  a  friend  in  the 
United  States,  you  must  remember  to  come  to  me.  My 
name  is  Alexander  Tenney,  and  I  live  in  New  York. 
Here  is  my  card,  with  my  address  upon  it." 

He  gave  Fiddle-John  and  his  son  each  a  friendly  nod 
and  sauntered  away  toward  a  group  of  ladies  who  were 
sealed  in  their  steamer-chairs,  conversing  with  the  cap- 
tain about  the  state  of  the  weather. 
16 


242  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 


IV. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sunny  morning  in  May  that  the 
steamer  cast  anchor  in  the  bay  of  New  York.  Fiddle- 
John  and  his  children  and  a  thousand  other  poorly  clad 
people  from  all  parts  of  the  world  were  carried  by  little 
steam-tugs  to  a  large  building  by  the  water,  where  there 
was  a  babel  of  noise  and  confusion.  Everybody  was 
shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice;  children  were  crying, 
women  hunting  for  their  husbands,  husbands  hunting  for 
their  baggage ;  policemen  were  pushing  back  the  crowd 
of  screaming  hotel -runners  who  were  besieging  the  doors, 
and  an  official,  standing  on  the  top  of  a  barrel,  was  yelling 
instructions  to  the  emigrants  in  half  a  dozen  different 
languages. 

Fiddle-John,  to  whom  this  spectacle  was  positively 
terrifying,  could  do  nothing  but  stare  about  him  in  a 
hopeless  and  dazed  manner,  while  he  pressed  his  violin- 
case  tightly  in  his  arms  and  allowed  himself  to  be  pushed 
hither  and  thither  by  the  surging  motion  of  the  crowd. 
He  was  finally  pushed  up  to  a  gate,  where  an  official  sat 
writing  at  a  desk. 

"  How  old  are  you  ?  "  asked  the  official,  or,  rather,  the 
interpreter,  who  was  standing  at  his  elbow. 

"  Thirty-five  years,"  said  Fiddle-John  ;  but  a  vague 
alarm  took  possession  of  him  at  the  question,  and  his 
heart  began  to  beat  uneasily. 

"  What  is  your  occupation  ?  " 

"  Occupation  ?     Well,  I  sing.     I  am  a  singer." 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  243 

"  A  singing-teacher  ?     Is  that  what  you  are  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  teach." 

"  What  do  you  do,  then,  for  a  living  ?  Perhaps  you 
are  a  sort  of  theatrical  chap — a  play-actor  ?  " 

Fiddle-John  looked  greatly  mystified;  he  had  never 
heard  of  such  a  thing  as  a  theatre  in  all  his  life,  and  the 
word  "  actor  "  was  not  found  in  his  vocabulary.  Never- 
theless, he  thought  it  best  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
the  great  official,  and  he  therefore  made  one  more  effort 
to  explain  the  nature  of  his  occupation. 

"  If  you  will  pardon  my  boldness,"  he  began,  with  a 
quaking  voice,  "  I  may  say  that  I  am  a  kind  of  poet — a 
minstrel " 

"Aha,  that's  what  you  are  !  "  roared  the  official,  with 
a  laugh,  as  if  he  had  at  last  found  the  solution  of  the 
problem  ;  "  you  are  a  negro-minstrel,  an  end-man,  clog- 
dancer,  and  lively  kind  of  a  chap  generally." 

Fiddle-John  stood  aghast ;  he  was  not  a  combative 
character,  but  the  recent  scene  with  the  American  gen- 
tleman on  shipboard  had  aroused  his  suspicion,  and  the 
conclusion  now  suddenly  flashed  upon  him  that  the  offi- 
cial was  making  fun  of  him.  The  blood  mounted  to  his 
head  and  his  whole  frame  trembled. 

"How  dare  you  mock  me? "he  cried,  passionately ; 
"  how  dare  you  call  me  a  negro  ?  Don't  you  sec  with 
your  own  eyes  that  I  am  as  white  as  you  are  ?  " 

"  Keep  a  civil  tongue  in  your  head,  now,  or  I'll  have 
you  arrested  on  the  spot,"  the  other  replied,  coolly.  "  I 
can't  afford  to  waste  my  time  on  you.  So  far  as  I  can 
learn,  you  are  a  beggar  who  walks  about  in  the  street, 


244  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS. 

singing.  Now,  that  kind  of  thing  won't  go  down  over 
here  ;  and  you  had  better  not  try  it.  How  much  money 
have  you  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  any  money." 

"  And  what  is  your  destination  ?  Where  do  you  in- 
tend to  go  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  to  see  the  American  President,  and  sing 
to  him." 

"  Sing  to  the  President !  Well,  I  expected  as  much. 
Why,  my  good  friend,  it  seems  you  are  a  lunatic  as  well 
as  a  beggar.  I  shall  send  you  to  the  Island,  and  you  will 
be  returned  by  the  next  steamer  to  Norway.  It  is  only 
able-bodied,  self-supporting  emigrants  we  receive  here, 
not  street-singers  and  crazy  people  ! " 

The  poor  Norseman  stood  as  if  riveted  to  the  spot. 
A  sudden  faintness  came  over  him,  and  he  felt  as  if  he 
were  going  to  sink  into  the  ground.  He  made  desperate 
attempts  to  speak,  but  his  words  stuck  in  his  throat  and 
he  could  not  utter  a  sound.  A  policeman  was  summoned 
and  he  was  unceremoniously  hustled  through  the  crowd 
and  forced  to  board  a  small  steam-tug,  where,  with  three 
other  forlorn  and  miserable-looking  individuals,  he  was 
locked  up  in  a  dirty  and  ill-smelling  cabin.  All  this  had 
been  done  so  quickly  that  he  scarcely  had  time  to  realize 
what  was  happening  to  him.  But  now  the  thought  of 
his  three  children  came  over  him  with  terrible  force,  and 
a  sickening  sense  of  his  helplessness  took  possession  of 
him.  In  one  moment  the  blood  throbbed  in  his  face  and 
temples,  and  he  burned  with  heat  and  indignation ;  in 
the  next,  the  thought  of  what  was  to  become  of  his  dear 


FIDDLE-JOHN'S  FAMILY.  345 

ones,  alone  and  friendless  as  they  were,  in  a  foreign  land, 
suddenly  drove  the  blood  away  from  his  cheeks  and  he 
shivered  with  dread.  He  was  in  the  midst  of  these  tor- 
menting fancies,  when  the  tug  gave  a  couple  of  shrill 
whistles  and  steamed  through  the  harbor  toward  an  isl- 
and covered  with  gray,  dismal-looking  stone  buildings, 
the  very  sight  of  which  filled  Fiddle-John's  breast  with 
fear. 

The  children,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  an  experience 
hardly  less  discouraging.  They  had  seen  their  father 
led  away  by  a  policeman,  and  had  shouted  to  him  with 
ail  their  might ;  but  their  voices  had  been  drowned  in 
the  general  confusion,  and  in  spite  of  all  their  efforts  they 
had  not  been  able  to  make  their  way  to  him  through  the 
dense  throng.  They  searched  for  hours,  but  could  find 
no  trace  of  him.  Being  afraid  of  the  man  at  the  desk, 
who  had  been  so  severe  with  their  father,  they  hit  upon 
the  plan  of  slipping  through  the  gate  in  the  train  of  a 
German  family  which  had  so  many  children  that  it  seemed 
hopeless  to  count  them.  This  scheme  succeeded  admi- 
rably, and  toward  evening  they  found  themselves  in  a 
broad  square  planted  with  trees  and  budding  shrubs. 
They  still  had  some  hope  of  finding  their  father,  thinking 
that  perhaps  his  detention  would  merrly  be  temporary ; 
and  they  sat  upon  the  benches  or  roamed  along  the  Bat- 
tery esplanade  with  a  miserable  feeling  of  loneliness  gnaw- 
ing at  their  hearts.  They  were  hungry,  but  they  did  not 
know  where  to  turn  to  obtain  bread.  The  world  seemed 
so  vast  and  strange  and  bewildering  that  it  gave  one  a 
headache  only  to  look  at  it.  To  ears  accustomed  only 


246  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

t3  the  murmur  of  the  pines  in  the  summer  night  and  the 
cong  of  birds  and  the  river's  monotonous  roar,  the  huge 
city,  with  its  varied  noises  and  its  incessant,  deafening 
lattie  of  wheels  over  stone  pavements,  seemed  over- 
whelming and  terrible. 

Only  Truls,  who  had  a  spirit  less  sensitive  and  less 
easily  daunted  than  his  brother  and  sister,  could  summon 
courage  to  think — to  devise  a  way,  if  possible,  out  of 
their  perplexities.  He  carefully  investigated  first  his 
own  pockets,  then  his  brother's,  in  the  hope  of  finding 
something  that  might  be  exchangeable  for  a  loaf  of 
bread.  But  he  could  find  nothing  except  a  couple  of 
buttons,  some  curious  snail-shells,  and  a  folding  knife, 
the  blades  of  which  had  been  sharpened  until  there  was 
scarcely  anything  left  of  them.  After  a  few  minutes' 
meditation,  he  resolved,  although  with  an  aching  heart, 
to  part  with  his  valuable  treasures ;  and  he  took  Karen 
by  one  hand  and  Alf  by  the  other,  and  led  the  way 
through  the  Battery  Park  toward  Greenwich  Street, 
where  he  hoped  to  find  a  baker's  shop. 

They  had  advanced  but  a  short  distance,  however,  when 
they  caught  sight  of  their  friend  Annibale,  who  was  sit- 
ting on  a  bench,  swinging  his  legs  with  an  air  of  deep 
dejection.  His  eyes  lighted  up  a  little  when  he  recog- 
nized Truls ;  he  jumped  up  and,  pointing  to  something 
resembling  a  large  muff  under  the  bench,  exclaimed,  in 
a  tearful  voice : 

"  Garibaldi  is  very  sick.  Garibaldi  will  die.  He  has 
been  ill  a  long  time;  he  will  not  stand  up  any  more. 
He  hangs  his  head  like  this." 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  247 

Annibale  here  demonstrated,  with  pathetic  absurdity, 
the  pitiful  manner  in  which  the  little  bear  hung  his  head. 
There  could  be  no  doubt ;  it  was  a  serious  case.  Truls 
was  especially  conscious  of  this,  after  having  stooped 
down  and  noted  Garibaldi's  symptoms.  His  eyes  were 
much  inflamed,  his  nose  was  hot,  and  he  frothed  slightly 
at  the  corners  of  his  mouth.  Yes,  it  was  plain  that  Gari- 
baldi was  going  to  die. 

Alf  and  Truls  nearly  forgot  their  hunger  and  their  dis- 
tress at  the  thought  of  this  great  calamity.  By  signs 
and  gestures,  they  persuaded  Annibale  to  seek  lodgings 
where  his  pet  might  receive  proper  care  and  perhaps 
stand  some  chance  of  recovering.  This  seemed  sound 
advice,  and  Annibale  was  not  slow  in  following  it,  when 
once  he  understood  it.  But  it  was  a  very  sad  march ; 
for  Garibaldi  refused  to  move,  and  the  three  boys  had  to 
carry  him  as  best  they  could. 

A  lodging-house  was  finally  found  where  supper  and 
bed  could  be  procured  for  twenty  cents;  and  though 
neither  was  particularly  inviting,  the  boys  were  too  hun- 
gry and  tired  to  be  fastidious.  The  Savoyard  fortunately 
had  a  little  money,  which  he  was  very  willing  to  share 
with  his  Norse  friends,  as  soon  as  he  had  gained  an  ink- 
ling of  the  day's  adventures.  Moreover,  he  had  relatives 
in  the  city,  and  knew  the  addresses  of  many  Italian 
friends.  He  therefore  had  no  fear  of  suffering  want,  and, 
as  he  asserted  in  his  own  jargon,  could  well  afford  to  be 
generous. 

The  boys  and  the  bear  slept  in  a  little  square  box  of  a 
room  in  which  there  were  two  beds,  while  a  kind-hearted 


24&  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

servant  carried  weary  little  Karen  to  her  own  apartment. 
Truls,  out  of  gratitude  to  Annibale,  offered  to  watch  over 
the  bear ;  but,  unhappily,  his  gratitude  was  not  lively 
enough  to  keep  him  awake,  though  he  struggled  bravely 
to  keep  his  eyes  open.  Toward  midnight  his  head  sank 
slowly  down  upon  Garibaldi's  back,  and  when  the  day- 
light peeped  in  through  the  dusty  window-panes  he  was 
yet  sleeping  peacefully.  The  sunbeams  crept,  inch  by 
inch,  across  the  floor,  until  they  lighted  on  Truls'  chin, 
then  climbed  up  to  his  nose  and  reached  his  eyes.  Then 
lie  awoke  with  a  pang,  sprang  up,  and  stared  confusedly 
about  him. 

Suddenly  his  eyes  fell  upon  Garibaldi,  who  lay  im- 
movable at  the  foot  of  the  bed ;  he  stooped  down  and 
touched  him.  The  poor  bear  was  stone  cold  !  It  had 
died  quietly  in  the  night.  Truls,  with  a  dim  notion  that 
Garibaldi's  death  was  due  to  his  own  lack  of  watchful- 
ness, made  haste  to  rouse  his  friend  and  explain  to  him, 
with  tears  of  grief  and  remorse,  that  he  had,  without 
meaning  to  do  it,  used  Garibaldi  as  a  pillow,  and  that 
the  poor  animal  had  probably  died  in  consequence.  An- 
nibale, however,  showed  no  disposition  to  reproach  Truls, 
but,  leaping  out  of  bed  with  a  frightened  face,  flung  him- 
self down  over  the  bear,  hugged  him,  and  wept  over  him, 
overwhelming  him  with  caresses  and  endearing  names. 
But  it  was  all  in  vain.  Garibaldi  was,  and  remained, 
dead.  He  had  caught  a  violent  cold  during  the  night 
of  the  storm  at  sea,  from  which  he  had  never  recovered. 

Although  it  was  yet  early  in  the  morning,  all  the  city 
seemed  to  be  awake  and  to  be  surging  and  roaring  out- 


FIDDLE-JOHN^  FAMILY.  249 

side  of  the  windows  like  a  storm-beaten  sea.  Stage- 
coaches, carriages,  and  enormous  drays  laden  with  bales 
and  barrels  and  boxes,  were  pouring  in  steady  streams  up 
and  down  the  street ;  people  of  all  sorts  and  conditions 
were  hurrying  hither  and  thither  ;  and  out  in  the  harbor, 
but  a  stone's  throw  distant,  there  was  a  forest  of  masts, 
and  big  and  little  steam-boats  rushed  shrieking  in  all  di- 
rections. It  seemed  like  tempting  Providence  to  venture 
out  into  this  wild  turmoil,  and  Truls  implored  Annibale 
not  to  risk  it,  when  he  perceived  that  the  latter  was  bent 
upon  some  such  dangerous  expedition. 

Annibale,  however,  had  seen  great  cities  before,  and 
gave  no  heed  to  his  companion's  fear,  but  tore  himself 
away,  promising  to  return  before  noon.  With  a  painful 
fascination  Truls  stood  watching  him  from  the  window, 
following  his  lithe  and  dexterous  motions  as  he  wound 
himself  through  the  crowd  and  dodged  the  huge  wheels 
and  wagon-poles,  as  they  seemed  on  the  point  of  knock- 
ing him  down.  When  at  last  the  Savoyard  vanished 
around  a  street-corner,  and  Truls  was  about  to  relapse 
into  his  sad  meditations,  the  kind-hearted  servant-girl 
caused  a  sensation  by  entering  with  Karen  and  a  tray, 
upon  which  were  three  pieces  of  bread  and  three  cups  of 
coffee.  Truls  then  awakened  his  brother,  who  had  slept 
soundly  through  the  recent  excitement,  and  the  three 
had  quite  a  pleasant  meal,  considering  their  forlorn  con- 
dition. 

They  covered  Garibaldi  with  a  blanket.  He  had  had 
a  hard  life  of  it  on  board  the  steamer,  and  had  suffered 
much.  Now  his  career  was  finished.  At  least,  so  All 


250  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

and  Truls  supposed,  until  a  very  extraordinary  thing 
happened. 

They  had  finished  their  breakfast  some  little  time, 
when  the  door  opened  and  Annibale  entered  with  a 
little,  smoky,  and  shrivelled-up  Italian.  He  was  Anni- 
bale's  uncle;  his  name  was  Giacomo  Bianchi,  and  by 
trade  he  was  a  tobacconist.  When  he  talked  he  used  his 
arms,  legs,  eyes,  and  mouth,  all  with  equal  vigor.  Fiddle- 
John's  children  stood  and  gazed  at  him  in  undisguised 
wonder ;  they  had  never  in  all  their  lives  seen  anything 
so  lively. 

"  Ecco  /  "  he  cried,  pointing  excitedly  first  to  the  dead 
bear  and  then  to  Truls  ;  "  the  fit  is  perfect.  He  is  of  the 
same  height,  and  will  do  perfectly  well.  If  he  has  ordi- 
nary intelligence,  and  not  too  much  of  it,  he  can  act  the 
bear  as  well  as  if  he  were  born  one.  I  will  prepare  the  skin 
for  you,  and  stuff  it  just  enough  to  fit  his  figure.  Then 
you  can  make  money  like  the  sands  of  the  sea.  I  have 
a  small  hand-organ  at  home,  and  a  tambourine  which  that 
vagabond  Gregorio  left  me  for  a  debt.  You  give  me 
half  of  what  you  earn,  and  I  will  lend  you  all  these 
things.  You  will  become  a  rich  man  before  you  die. 
The  bigger  boy  can  play  the  hand-organ,  the  little  girl 
can  strike  the  tambourine,  and  you  yourself  lead  the  bear 
and  make  him  dance.  Behold,  my  son,  your  fortune  is 
made.  Ecco,  I  have  spoken  !  " 

Giacomo's  dark  eyes  flashed  with  enthusiasm  as  he  un- 
folded this  glorious  scheme,  and  he  flourished  his  stick 
so  violently  in  the  direction  of  Karen  that  she  grew 
frightened  and  began  to  cry.  Her  brothers,  too,  viewed 


FIDDLE- JOHN^S  FAMILY.  251 

fhe  excitable  little  man  with  suspicion,  and  listened  in 
no  friendly  spirit  to  his  unintelligible  talk.  To  their 
guileless  Norse  minds  his  gestures  seemed  at  first  to  in- 
dicate insanity,  but  after  awhile  they  concluded  that,  for 
some  reason,  he  was  angry  at  their  sister.  Then  they 
clinched  their  fists  in  their  pockets  and  made  themselves 
ready  to  pounce  upon  him,  the  very  moment  he  vent- 
ured to  touch  her. 

His  apparent  wrath  suddenly  left  him,  however,  ana 
he  came  up  to  shake  hands  with  each  of  them,  smiling, 
and  nodding  his  shaggy  head  with  extreme  affability 
Still  they  could  not  quite  conquer  their  distrust  of  him, 
and  it  required  a  long  and  lively  pantomime  to  induce 
them  to  accompany  him  to  his  own  dwelling.  At  last 
they  yielded,  because  they  knew  of  nothing  else  to  do. 
Garibaldi  was  put  into  a  bag,  and  Giacomo  and  the  boys, 
taking  each  a  corner,  carried  him  easily.  First  they  went 
to  Castle  Garden  to  inquire  for  their  father,  but  there 
was  no  one  there  who  knew  anything  about  him.  Anoth- 
er steamer  had  just  come  in  with  over  eleven  hundred 
Polish  Jews,  and  the  officials  were  too  busy  to  give  heed 
to  the  questions  of  the  strange-looking  boys  who  talked 
a  strange-sounding  language.  All  their  attempts  to  get 
possession  of  the  baggage  were  also  unavailing ;  and  with 
heavy  hearts  they  plodded  along  together  with  the  Ital- 
ian and  Garibaldi,  winding  their  way  through  a  laby- 
rinth of  dirty  streets,  until  they  reached  a  little,  ill-smell* 
ing  bird-shop  in  Canal  Street. 

Here,  too,  there  was  a  bedlam  of  noise,  and  the  young 
Norsemen  remained  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  floor, 


25*  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

staring  about  them  in  helpless  bewilderment.  Two  great 
blue-and-yellow  macaws  were  shrieking  overhead,  an  an- 
cient and  wise-looking  cockatoo  was  apparently  scold- 
ing them  for  their  undignified  behavior,  and  uncounted 
paroquets,  pigeons,  and  canary-birds  were  chirping,  cooing, 
and  screaming  in  a  confused  chorus  which  would  have 
racked  the  nerves  of  a  mummy.  The  barking  of  a  num- 
ber of  dogs,  which  seemed  to  object  to  the  limited  area 
of  their  cages,  added  to  the  uproar ;  and  it  was  a  great 
relief  to  the  whole  juvenile  company  when  Giacomo  in- 
vited them  up-stairs,  where  he  had  his  own  personal 
domicile. 

The  bird-store,  according  to  Annibale's  assertion,  was 
a  source  of  enormous  revenue,  but  belonged  to  his  other 
uncle,  Matteo,  who  was  a  citizen  of  much  weight  and  in- 
fluence in  the  Italian  colony.  This  great  man,  however, 
it  was  understood,  had  more  important  matters  to  attend 
to,  and  left  the  business  in  charge  of  his  humbler  brother, 
Giacomo.  A  vague  impression  of  these  facts  Annibale 
had  managed  to  communicate  to  his  friends,  in  spite  of 
the  linguistic  difficulties  under  which  he  labored  ;  and 
the  Norse  boys,  who  during  the  two  weeks  on  the  steam- 
ship had  learned  the  Italian  names  for  many  common 
things  and  ideas,  were  pleasantly  surprised  at  the  readi- 
ness with  which  they  comprehended  the  mixture  of  signs, 
gestures,  and  words  which  constituted  Annibale's  medium 
of  communication. 

Uncle  Giacomo's  rooms  proved  much  more  agreeable 
than  the  shop  below.  The  noise  of  the  birds  penetrated 
the  floor  only  as  a  subdued  confusion  of  sounds,  and  did 


FIDDLE-JOHN'S  FAMILY.  253 

not  interfere  with  conversation.  On  a  little  low  table  at 
the  window  there  was  a  multitude  of  small,  sharp  tools, 
and  an  array  of  bottles  which  emitted  strong  but  not 
unpleasant  odors.  Some  of  them  had  feathers  stick- 
ing through  their  stoppers,  and  others  were  labelled 
"  Poison  "  in  big  red  letters.  About  the  walls  there  were 
rows  of  shelves,  upon  which  stood  bright-colored  birds, 
perching  upon  twigs,  as  if  on  the  point  of  taking  flight, 
owls  with  big  yellow  eyes  and  a  dignified  sullenness  of 
expression,  hawks  with  wings  outspread,  swooping  down 
upon  unseen,  unsuspicious  rabbits ;  and,  besides,  there 
were  little  pet  dogs  and  birds,  whose  skins  had  been  pre- 
served by  the  taxidermist's  art  for  sorrowing  owners. 

All  these  objects  the  boys  and  Karen  found  highly 
entertaining,  and  Uncle  Giacomo,  who  was  bent  upon 
making  a  good  impression,  allowed  them  to  take  down 
and  examine  anything  that  struck  their  fancy.  The  work 
of  skinning  poor  Garibaldi  also  served  to  occupy  their 
minds,  and  thus  the  forenoon  passed  rapidly  until  it  was 
time  to  sit  down  to  dinner.  They  did  not  sit  down,  how- 
ever, for  their  dinner  consisted  only  of  bread  and  milk, 
and  that  could  be  eaten  just  as  well  standing.  In  the 
afternoon  they  were  allowed  to  fetch  up  some  rabbits  and 
guinea-pigs  from  the  store,  and  when  they  had  played 
with  them  for  a  couple  of  hours,  Uncle  Giacomo.brought 
them  a  green  parrot  that  could  talk  and  scold  in  both 
English  and  Italian.  Neither  Alf  nor  Truls  nor  Karen 
understood  its  talk  ;  but,  for  all  that,  it  entertained  them, 
and  served  for  a  time  to  keep  their  minds  from  dwelling 
on  their  misfortunes.  They  scarcely  knew  what  was  to 


354  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

become  of  them  ;  the  world  seemed  so  vast  and  so  pitiless, 
and  they  themselves  such  a  very  small  part  of  it.  They 
thought  with  flutterings  of  hope  and  fear  of  their  father, 
and  determined  never  to  abandon  their  search  for  him 
until  they  should  find  him. 

Their  fate  seemed  strange  and  incomprehensible.  But 
a  few  weeks  ago  they  were  living  happily  in  their  quiet 
Norse  home,  in  the  little  cottage  under  the  mountain- 
wall.  Now  they  were  flung  out,  helpless  and  alone,  into 
a  huge  whirlpool  of  foreign  life ;  their  mother,  whom 
they  had  loved  more  than  anyone  else  in  the  whole 
world,  was  dead,  and  their  father  was  wandering  about, 
no  one  knew  where,  vainly  seeking  them,  perhaps,  and 
not  knowing  whither  to  turn.  Indeed,  much  can  happen 
in  two  short  weeks.  If  they  had  but  known  what  was  to 
befall  them  before  they  left  their  happy  home  !  Oh,  if 
they  had  but  known ! 

V. 

Nearly  a  week  passed  before  Garibaldi's  skin  was 
properly  padded  and  prepared  for  the  reception  of  its 
new  occupant ;  but  then  it  fitted  to  perfection,  and  was 
as  soft  and  flexible  as  an  overcoat.  Truls  put  it  on  with 
perfect  ease,  and  breathed  as  freely  through  Garibaldi's 
nose  as  if  it  had  been  his  own.  Fortunately  the  bear  had 
been  of  the  shaggy,  long-haired  kind,  and  when  the  open- 
ing was  laced  together  with  fine  silk  cords  the  joining 
was  completely  hidden  by  the  fur.  The  children  had 
repeated  rehearsals  in  Uncle  Giacomo's  room  ;  and  they 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  2SS 

all  agreed  that  Truls  made  a  very  respectable  bear.  He 
could  walk  on  his  hind-legs  beautifully,  he  could  salute 
with  his  right  fore-paw,  and  he  could  even  nod  with  his 
head  in  a  very  intelligent  fashion.  In  fact,  there  was  a 
danger  that  he  might  be  too  intelligent. 

"  Now,  do  remember,"  Alf  would  cry  out  to  him,  "  a 
bear  cannot  blow  his  nose.  He  may  be  allowed  to 
sneeze,  and  even  to  cough  ;  but  he  must  not  be  too  frisky 
and  intelligent.  And  remember,  that  if  you  laugh  or 
make  any  sound  whatever,  the  game  is  up  and  we  are 
ruined.  Uncle  Giacomo  only  keeps  us  to  make  money 
with  us,  but  he  is  not  unkind,  and  as  long  as  we  don't 
starve,  we  ought  to  be  thankful.  It  all  depends  upon 
you,  whether  we  shall  have  a  home  or  be  thrown  into  the 
streets." 

It  was  with  a  great  flutter  of  excitement  that  the  Sa- 
voyard and  his  Norse  friends  started  out  early  one  Mon- 
day morning  in  the  middle  of  May.  Alf  was  carrying 
the  hand-organ,  Karen  the  tambourine,  and  Annibale  was 
leading  the  make-believe  bear  by  the  same  iron  chain 
which  had  regulated  the  movements  of  Garibaldi.  They 
were  about  to  open  their  first  performance  on  the  side- 
walk at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Canal  Street,  but 
two  policemen  were  immediately  on  hand  and  sternly 
commanded  them  to  "  trot."  Trot  they  accordingly  did  ; 
but  the  sidewalks  were  everywhere  so  crowded  that  they 
seemed  in  danger  of  being  knocked  down,  in  case  they 
should  offer  to  obstruct  the  hurrying  stream  of  human- 
ity. 

It  was  not  until  they  reached  the  broad  steps  of  the 


256  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

Sub-Treasury  in  Wall  Street  that  they  summoned  cour- 
age to  make  a  second  stop  ;  and  Truls  was  by  that  time 
so  tired  of  the  unnatural  four-footed  gait  that  he  rose, 
without  invitation,  and  began  to  promenade  in  a  very  un- 
bearlike  fashion.  Presently  Alf's  hand-organ  began  to 
wail  a  very  sad  air  from  "  II  Trovatore,"  and  Karen  struck 
the  tambourine  with  a  vigor  which  threatened  to  ruin 
both  her  knuckles  and  the  drum-skin.  A  number  of 
newsboys  and  bootblacks  instantly  scampered  up  to  wit- 
ness this  attractive  entertainment,  and  half  a  dozen 
brokers  and  bank-messengers  also  paused  to  view  the 
antics  of  the  little  bear.  Annibale  shouted  and  swung 
his  whip,  and  the  animal  saluted  and  danced  slowly  and 
clumsily  (as  he  had  been  commanded),  and  at  the  end 
of  five  minutes  quite  a  shower  of  pennies  dropped  into 
the  Savoyard's  hat.  The  crowd  increased  ;  the  news- 
boys screamed  with  delight,  and  scrambled  up  the  steps, 
pell-mell,  whenever  the  bear  approached  them.  Truls 
began  to  enjoy  the  fun,  and  chuckled  to  himself  at  the 
thought  that  he  could  chase  a  whole  flock  of  big  boys 
who,  if  they  had  known  what  sort  of  a  creature  he  was, 
would  in  all  likelihood  have  chased  him.  This  reflection 
made  him  every  moment  bolder,  and  he  would  have 
been  in  danger  of  overstepping  his  part  altogether  if  Alf 
had  not  screamed  to  him  in  Norwegian  : 

"  Now,  take  care,  smarticat,  don't  be  too  intelligent !  " 
Nevertheless,  just  as  he  was  resolving  to  heed  this  ad- 
vice, a  little  ragged  bootblack,  while  trying  to  back  away 
from  him,  fell,  turned  a  dexterous  somersault,  and  came 
down  on  his  feet  on  the  sidewalk  at  the  foot  of  the  Starrs. 


FAMILY.  257 

The  sight  was  so  comical  that  Truls  lost  control  of  him- 
self and  burst  out  laughing ;  but  in  the  same  instant  his 
brother  and  sister  were  at  his  side,  and  made  so  terrific  a 
noise  with  their  respective  instruments  that  his  laugh- 
ter was  completely  drowned  in  the  din.  Someone,  how- 
ever, must  have  noticed  his  mirth;  for  there  was  a 
shriek  of  merriment  among  the  boys,  and  one  of  them 
cried  out : 

"  Did  you  hear  that  ?  The  bear  is  a-laughin' !  He  is 
a  jolly  old  coon,  that  bear  is." 

"No,  he  was  only  a-yawnin'l"  shouted  another  boy. 
"  He  is  a  queer  old  party,  and  he  knows  lots  ot 
tricks." 

"  Them  b'ars  is  a  mighty  funny  lot,"  the  first  boy  re- 
joined. "I  onct  seed  one  at  the  circus;  he  could  ride 
bare-back  and  drink  beer." 

"  I  onct  knowed  one  as  could  smoke  cigars  and  kiss 
his  boss,"  shouted  number  two,  determined  not  to  be 
outdone. 

All  these  comments  escaped  the  bear's  brother,  but 
Annibale  caught  a  suspicion  that  something  was  wrong. 
He  hastily  gathered  in  the  second  shower  of  pennies, 
and  made  a  sign  to  his  friends  to  stop  the  entertainment. 
They  made  their  way  as  quickly  as  they  could  down  to 
the  water-front,  and  thence  to  the  Battery  Park,  where 
there  was  plenty  of  room  for  another  exhibition.  The 
newsboys  and  bootblacks  followed  them  for  a  couple  of 
blocks,  but  seeing  that  they  had  no  intention  of  stopping, 
gradually  dropped  behind  and  returned  to  their  accus- 
tomed haunts.  Alf  and  Truls  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief 
17 


*5»  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

when  the  last  of  their  importunate  followers  had  disap* 
peared ;  and  it  was  with  a  lighter  heart  that  they  took 
their  station  under  the  trees  of  the  park  and  commenced 
the  same  programme  which  had  been  so  successful  in 
Wall  Street. 

Their  audience  was  here  even  larger  than  it  had  been 
at  their  first  performance,  but  it  was  not  nearly  so  profit- 
able; for  the  foreign  emigrants  and  corner-loafers  who 
abound  in  this  locality  had  probably  no  money  to  spare, 
or  they  preferred  to  have  their  entertainment  gratis. 
Hardly  half  a  dozen  pennies  dropped  into  Annibale's 
hat,  in  spite  of  his  repeated  invitations  to  contribute.  It 
was  obvious  that  they  had  hit  upon  a  bad  locality,  where 
art  was  not  properly  appreciated. 

As  Karen's  knuckles  were  by  this  time  quite  numb,  it 
was  agreed  that  Annibale  should  take  his  turn  at  the 
hand-organ  and  give  Alf  a  chance  to  distinguish  himself 
at  the  tambourine.  They  had  just  completed  this  arrange- 
ment, and  were  strolling  rather  aimlessly  past  Castle 
Garden  toward  the  Coney  Island  Pier,  when  they  saw  a 
dense  crowd  gathered  at  the  entrance  of  the  great  immi- 
gration depot.  Curiosity  prompted  them  to  discover  the 
cause  of  the  demonstration,  and  as  everyone  fell  aside  to 
make  room  for  the  bear,  they  had  no  difficulty  in  reach- 
ing the  open  space  in  the  centre  of  the  throng. 

What  was  their  horror  when  they  suddenly  found 
themselves  confronted  with  a  real  bear — a  huge  black 
beast  which  was  dancing  slowly  upon  his  hind-legs,  and 
every  now  and  then,  with  an  angry  yawn,  showing  an 
*rray  of  terrible  teeth !  They  wished  themselves  well 


MIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  259 

out  of  sight  again,  and  strove  with  all  their  might  to 
avoid  attracting  attention.  But  instead  of  that,  they 
found  themselves  pushed  right  into  the  middle  of  the 
ring.  And  the  moment  the  huge  bear  spied  a  comrade, 
down  he  dropped  on  all-fours  and  insisted  upon  making  his 
acquaintance.  With  a  wild  scream  which  was  anything 
Dut  bearlike,  Truls  rose  up  and  rushed  toward  his  brother 
Alf,  flinging  his  paws  about  his  neck.  The  keeper  of  the 
big  bear  gave  him  a  cut  with  his  whip,  but  he  still  strained 
at  his  chain  and  gave  forth  angry  growls.  The  people 
fled  in  all  directions,  and  Alf  grabbed  his  disguised 
brother  in  his  arms  and  ran  as  fast  as  he  could  carry 
him.  The  others  followed ;  but  before  they  had  over- 
taken him  he  was  stopped  by  a  policeman,  who  inquired 
whether  he  had  a  license.  The  boy  stared  in  abject 
terror  at  the  officer  of  the  law. 

"  Pi-please,  sir,"  he  stammered,  imploringly,  in  his 
native  tongue,  "  don't  hurt  my  brother !  He  isn't  a  bear 
at  all,  if  you  please,  sir ;  and — and — I  am  a  harmless  lad 
wno — who — arrived  from  Norway  the  other  day,  and — 
and — never  did  mortal  thing  any  harm  as  long  as  I  lived, 
sir ! " 

"  Don't  jabber  yer  Dutch  at  me,  ye  young  scalawag  ! " 
the  policeman  replied,  seizing  the  boy  by  the  arm  and 
shaking  him.  "Ef  it  is  an  honest  loivelihood  ye're 
afther,  why  don't  ye  drap  that  poor  dumb  cr'atur'  and 
toind  some  dacent  imployment,  begorra  ?  " 

Alf  was  altogether  too  frightened  to  make  any  answer 
to  this  suggestion,  of  which,  moreover,  he  understood 
aot  a  word.  He  only  gazed  with  his  large  blue  eyes  at 


260  THE   MODERN   VIKINGS. 

the  policeman,  and  moved  his  lips  nervously,  without 
being  able  to  utter  a  sound. 

"  PI — please,  sir,"  he  faltered,  after  several  vain  at- 
tempts to  speak,  "  please  let  me  go."  And  Truls,  com- 
pletely forgetting  his  disguise,  raised  two  hairy  paws  im- 
ploringly toward  the  officer  and  begged  tearfully. 

"  Please,  sir,  do  let  my  brother  go  ! " 

The  policeman's  face  underwent  a  sudden  and  startling 
change.  His  eyes  nearly  popped  out  of  his  head,  his  jaw 
dropped  down  on  his  chest,  and  the  veins  on  his  fore- 
head swelled.  "  Til  be  blowed,"  he  cried  in  breathless 
amazement,  "  ef  the  dumb  cratur'  ain't  a-talkin'  Dutch  ! " 

He  stooped  for  a  minute,  with  his  hands  resting  upon 
his  knees,  and  stared  with  a  perplexed  expression  at  the 
supposed  bear ;  then  the  situation  began  to  dawn  upon 
him,  and  he  burst  out  into  a  tremendous  laugh. 

"  Oh,  it  is  a  foine  bear  ye  be,  sonny  !  "  he  exclaimed, 
lifting  the  boy-bear  unceremoniously  on  his  arm,  and 
grabbing  hold  of  Alf  s  collar  with  his  disengaged  hand. 
"  A  smart  young  un  ye  be,  be  jabers  !  It  is  an  alderman 
ye  will  be  before  ye  doi — if  ye  only  vote  the  roight 
ticket.  Tis  a  shame,  it  is,  ye  don't  talk  a  Christian  Ian- 
guage,  sech  as  a  gintleman  can  understand." 

He  was  moving  up  Greenwich  Street,  talking  in  this 
humorous  strain,  half  to  himself  and  half  to  his  prison- 
ers, whom  he  was  dragging  reluctantly  along,  when  his 
progress  was  suddenly  arrested  by  a  little  girl  who  be- 
came unaccountably  entangled  in  his  legs. 

"  Mr.  Policeman,"  the  child  cried,  in  the  same  unintel- 
ligible tongue,  gazing  up  with  a  pale  and  excited  fare  at 


FIDDLE- JOHN^S  FAMILY.  2C» 

the  tall  officer,  "  please  don't  hurt  my  brothers.  And 
won't  you  please  take  me  along,  too  ?  I  have  been  bad, 
too,  Mr.  Policeman— much  badder  than  Truls." 

"Why,  how-de-do,  sis!"  the  officer  asked,  with  a 
broad  grin.  "  Is  it  the  bear  ye  be,  did  ye  say,  as  lent  yer 
skin  to  this  little  chap  ?  Ah,  be  jabers  !  now  I  b-*gin  to 
take  in  yer  capers.  It  is  a  moighty  mixed-up  lot  ye  DC, 
and  up  to  no  end  of  thricks.  But  jest  ye  wait  till  his 
honor  gits  hold  on  ye,  and  he  will  know  how  to  git  each 
one  of  ye  back  into  his  roight  skin." 

This  sinister  allusion  was  lost,  however,  on  the  three 
culprits,  and  even  if  they  had  understood  it,  it  would 
probably  not  have  impressed  them  greatly.  Their  life 
had  been  so  exciting  since  they  left  their  quiet  Norse 
valley,  that  they  had  almost  ceased  to  be  surprised  at 
anything  that  might  happen  to  them.  Alf  and  Karen 
plodded  on  wearily  at  the  policeman's  side,  holding  on 
to  the  tails  of  his  coat,  and  showing  no  desire  to  part 
company  with  him ;  and  Truls,  who  was  wellnigh  ex- 
hausted by  the  labors  and  excitement  of  the  day,  was 
only  too  glad  to  be  able  to  rest  his  shaggy  head  on  the 
officer's  shoulders,  and  to  embrace  his  neck  with  his  two 
hairy  paws.  The  officer,  somehow,  seemed  to  enjoy  the 
situation ;  for  he  laughed  and  chuckled  incessantly  to 
himself,  as  if  he  were  contemplating  some  delightful  plan 
which  promised  a  great  deal  of  amusement.  He  shook 
his  club  good-naturedly  at  the  crowd  which  followed  him, 
and  pushed  his  way  onward,  until  he  reached  a  large 
brick  building,  over  the  door  of  which  was  carved,  in  big 
Roman  letters,  "  Police  Precinct,  No.  ."  Here  he 


262  THE  MODERN-  VIKINGS. 

entered  with  his  prisoners,  and  after  having  made  an 
entry  in  a  book,  consigned  them  to  a  large,  bare,  and 
dreary-looking  room,  where  a  few  miserable  people  were 
reposing  in  various  attitudes  upon  the  floor. 

The  two  Norse  boys,  who  vaguely  understood  that  this 
was  Gome  kind  of  a  prison,  looked  with  horror  upon  the 
ragged  and  untidy  occupants  of  the  room,  and  withdrew 
with  their  sister  into  the  remotest  corner  they  could  find, 
so  as  to  escape  observation.  Here  they  held  a  consulta- 
tion, glancing  all  the  while  fearfully  about  them,  and 
lowering  their  voices  to  a  whisper. 

"  Truls,"  said  Alf,  raising  his  guileless  eyes  to  those  of 
his  younger  but  braver-hearted  brother,  "  what  do  you 
think  will  become  of  us  ?  do  you  think  we  shall  have  to 
stay  long  in  this  dreadful  place  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  you  sillibub  !  "  replied  the  ursine  Truls,  with 
well-feigned  cheerfulness;  "we  will  be  let  out  before 
night;  and  anyhow,  I  know  what  I  am  going  to  do. 
You  remember  that  handsome  American  gentleman  on 
board  the  steamboat,  whom  I  wanted  to  fight  because  I 
thought  he  was  making  fun  of  father  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  remember,"  said  Alf. 

"  Well,  he  gave  me  his  card,  which  I  gave  you  to  keep 
in  your  pocket-book ;  and  he  made  me  promise  that  if 
ever  I  needed  a  friend,  I  should  send  for  him.  There  is 
an  address  on  the  card,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  lie  is  a 
^reat  man  ;  and  then  everybody  will  be  sure  to  know 
him." 

"  Oh,  Truls ! "  his  brother  exclaimed,  admiringly ; 
"you  are  always  so  bright  and  so  clever;  and  I  h^ve  the 


FIDDLE- JOHN^S  FAMILY.  263 

card  here  ;  and  I'll  not  lose  it.  But  don't  you  think  you 
had  better  take  off  your  bear-skin,  so  that  the  judge  may 
see  you  aren't  a  bear,  but  a  little  boy  ?  " 

"I  have  thought  of  that,"  Truls  rejoined,  earnestly; 
"  but  the  trouble  is  I  haven't  anything  else  to  put  on. 
So  I  shall  have  to  go  to  the  judge  as  I  am,  and  I  guess 
he  won't  be  so  very  mad,  when  I  tell  him  I  haven't  got 
nothing  else  under." 

A  dreary  hour  passed — dreary  beyond  expression. 
The  two  boys  tried  each  to  persuade  the  other  that  he 
was,  on  the  whole,  not  at  all  afraid,  but  really  quite 
cheerful.  The  only  one  whose  argument  was  really  con- 
vincing, however,  was  Karen  ;  for  she  went  peacefully  to 
sleep  on  Truls'  shoulder,  and  did  not  wake  until  the 
policeman  came  and  summoned  them  all  into  court. 
They  made  quite  a  sensation  when  they  entered ;  and 
people  rose  and  craned  their  necks  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  curious  group.  It  was  probably  the  first  time  that  a 
bear  had  marched  on  its  hind-legs  into  a  police-court  and 
taken  its  place  behind  the  bar  as  a  prisoner.  The  judge 
smiled  a  little  when  he  saw  it,  and  leaned  himself  half 
over  to  the  policeman  who  was  apparently  giving  an  ac- 
count of  the  case. 

"  The  officer  charges  you  with  roaming  about  with  an 
unlicensed  bear,"  he  said  severely,  fixing  a  stern  glance 
upon  Alf.  "  What  have  you  to  say  to  the  charge  ?" 

Alf  gazed  up  helplessly,  and  shook  his  head. 

"  Why  don't  you  answer  ?  "  repeated  the  judge,  im- 
patiently. "  Why  didn't  you  take  out  a  license  for  your 
bear?" 


9&|  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

The  policeman  again  leaned  over  and  explained  that 
the  prisoners  were  Dutch,  or  some  other  kind  of  for- 
eigners, and  that  they  did  not  understand  a  word  of 
English. 

"  Hm,"  growled  his  Honor,  "  why  didn't  you  tell  me 
that  before  ?  Is  there  anyone  in  this  court-room,"  he 
went  on,  raising  his  voice,  "who  understands  foreign 
languages  and  would  be  willing  to  help  the  court  out  of 
a  difficulty  ?  " 

He  looked  expectantly  about  the  large  room,  but  no 
one  volunteered  to  act  as  interpreter  of  anything  so  com- 
prehensive as  "  foreign  languages." 

"  The  gintleman  over  there,"  the  policeman  remarked, 
pointing  out  a  well-dressed  man  in  the  audience,  "  looks 
as  if  he  understood  furrin  languages." 

The  gentleman  in  question  disclaimed  all  knowledge 
of  the  languages  referred  to,  and  the  Court  visited  him 
with  a  look  of  serious  displeasure.  It  was  very  annoy- 
ing, and  there  seemed  positively  no  way  of  disposing  of 
the  case,  except  to  recommit  the  prisoners  until  an  in- 
terpreter could  be  found.  The  judge  was  about  to  re- 
sort to  that  expedient,  when  a  new  prisoner  was  led  into 
the  court,  and  the  boys  gave  a  simultaneous  exclamation 
of  surprise  at  beholding  Jens  Skoug,  the  emigration 
agent.  Mr.  Skoug  had  evidently  come  into  collision 
with  a  policeman's  club,  or  some  other  unyielding  sub- 
stance, for  his  left  eye  was  much  blackened,  and  he  had 
a  great  bump  on  his  forehead.  He  had  been  arrested 
the  previous  night  for  disturbing  the  peace 

"  That  man,  it  appears,  is  acquainted  with  these  Dutch 


FIDDLE- JOHN'S  FAMILY.  265 

boys,"  the  Court  remarked,  nodding  to  the  policeman 
who  had  charge  of  Mr.  Skoug ;  "  bring  him  up." 

"  Do  you  understand  foreign  languages  ?"  the  justice 
went  on,  addressing  the  emigration  agent  in  his  severest 
judicial  tones. 

"  Yes,  lots  of  them,"  replied  Jens,  drowsily. 

"  Do  you  know  these  boys  ?  " 

Jens  contemplated  the  boys  with  a  puzzled  frown; 
then  he  shook  his  head  boozily  and  replied  : 

"  No,  yer  Honor,  I  never  saw  them  in  all  my  life. 
They  are  not  my  style,  yer  Honor ;  don't  look  as  if  they 
had  moved  in  the  best  society." 

"  Well,  never  mind  that,"  interrupted  the  Court ;  "  but 
can't  you  find  out  anything  about  them  ?  why  they  did 
not  license  their  bear  ?  Who  provides  for  them  ?  Where 
do  they  live  ?  " 

Jens,  in  turning  his  back  to  the  Court,  gave  Alf  and 
Karen  and  the  bear  a  fierce  glance,  as  if  to  say  that  he 
would  make  them  smart,  if  they  dared  in  any  way  to 
compromise  him.  Then,  to  their  surprise,  he  stooped 
down  and  talked  with  them  earnestly  for  several  min- 
utes. 

"  Your  Honor,"  he  resumed,  rising  and  facing  the 
judge  ;  "  these  boys  are,  as  you  supposed,  Dutch.  They 
are  utterly  destitute,  and  have  no  money  wherewith  to 
buy  a  license  for  their  bear.  In  other  words,  they  are 
vagrants  ;  and  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  make  a  sugges- 
tion, I  think  the  Reform  School  or  the  workhouse  would 
be  the  right  place  for  them.  They  are  a  hardened  lot,  I 
am  afraid,  judging  by  their  talk " 


266  THE  MODERN   VIKINGS 

"  ifou  may  spare  your  suggestions,"  the  judge  inter- 
rupted curtly;  "though  they  happen  to  fit  in  exactly 
with  what  I  had  determined  to  do  with  them.  Their 
bear  will  have  to  be  killed  or  sold,  and  they  are  hereby 
recommitted,  and  will  be  sent  to  the  Island  for  thirty 
days." 

Mr.  Skoug  again  stooped  down  and  explained  to  the 
two  culprits ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  mentioned  the  word 
"  kill "  than  Alf  gave  a  shout,  half  of  anger,  half  of 
dread,  pulled  his  Norse  tolle-knife  *  from  its  sheath, 
and  with  one  swift  motion  slit  the  bear's  skin  from  the 
neck  downward.  The  policeman  rushed  forward,  the 
audience  jumped  up  on  the  benches,  the  judge  himself 
started  at  the  flash  of  the  knife,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
leaping  over  his  desk.  What  was  his  amazement  when, 
instead  of  a  bear,  he  saw  a  little  shivering  boy  in  very 
scanty  attire !  A  roar  of  laughter  and  a  deafening  salvo 
of  applause  burst  forth  from  all  parts  of  the  room,  and  it 
was  in  vain  that  the  judge  hammered  with  all  his  might 
on  his  desk,  and  in  thunderous  tones  demanded  order. 
The  Irish  policeman,  to  whose  taste  for  practical  jokes 
the  whole  scene  was  due,  laughed  as  if  he  were  going  to 
split  his  sides.  He  would  not  have  ventured  to  confess 
that  he  had  planned  some  such  dramatic  incident,  al- 
though, as  he  admitted  to  himself,  it  had  turned  out 
even  more  startling  than  he  had  dared  to  hope. 

When  order  was  finally  restored,  the  Court  commanded 

*  All  Norse  peasant  lads  wear  a  sheathed  knife  at  the  side,  called  a 
"tolle-knife." 


that  the  prisoners  be  removed  ;  but  Truls,  who  now  com- 
prehended  the  situation,  and  was  determined  not  to 
submit  to  further  imposition,  marched  boldly  up  to  the 
judge,  and  put  Mr,  Tenney's  card  before  him  on  the 
desk. 

"This  gentleman,"  he  said,  confidently,  "made  me 
promise  to  send  for  him  if  I  should  ever  need  a  friend. 
Now  I  need  him,  and  if  you  would  kindly  send  sonr.?on~ 
to  fetch  him,  I  should  be  much  obliged." 

The  judge  understood  the  purport  of  this  speech,  even 
though  the  words  were  unintelligible  to  him.  Mr.  Ten- 
ney's name  was  well  known  to  him,  as  that  of  a  citizen 
of  great  wealth  and  influence,  and  his  prisoners  immedi- 
ately rose  in  his  estimation  when  he  heard  that  they  en- 
joyed the  protection  of  so  prominent  a  man.  He  there- 
fore beckoned  to  a  policeman,  wrote  a  hasty  note,  and  told 
him  to  have  it  instantly  despatched.  The  boys  and  their 
sister,  in  the  meanwhile,  were  permitted  to  sit  down  in  the 
court-room,  awaiting  Mr.  Tenney's  arrival.  Mr.  Skoug, 
who  betrayed  a  great  anxiety  to  be  off,  pleading  a  variety 
of  business  engagements,  was  then  examined  and  fined 
ten  dollars.  He  had  just  managed  to  disappear  through 
a  side-room  when  Mr.  Tenney's  tall  and  portly  figure 
was  seen  entering.  He  gave  the  boys  a  friendly  nod,  as 
he  walked  rapidly  up  to  the  judge,  with  whom  kj  Cv>a- 
versed  amicably  for  several  minutes.  There  was  sorr^- 
thing  brisk,  energetic,  and  business-like  in  all  his  mc'"> 
ments.  He  laughed  very  heartily  when  the  recent 
incident  with  the  bear  was  related  to  him,  and  the  judge 
joined  in  the  laugh,  and  asserted  that  it  was  the  most 


S6g  THE   MODERN  VIKINGS. 

amusing  thing  that  ever  had  occurred  in  all  his  long  ex« 
perience  on  the  bench.  Then  Mr.  Tenney  apologized  for 
having  taken  up  so  much  of  the  Court's  valuable  time, 
and  the  Court  expressed  itself  delighted  to  have  made 
Mr.  Tenney 's  acquaintance  and  to  have  been  in  any  way 
able  to  serve  him ;  whereupon  Mr.  Tenney  had  the  three 
children  conveyed  to  his  carriage,  and  they  drove  away 
tnrough  the  glorious  May  sunshine,  up  one  street  and 
down  another,  until  they  reached  a  large  and  stately 
house  on  Madison  Avenue.  Here  they  stepped  out  of 
the  carriage,  and  a  liveried  servant  flung  the  doors  open 
before  them,  as  they  entered  the  house. 

Such  magnificence  the  boys  had  never  beheld  before  : 
long,  wonderful  mirrors  which  looked  like  strips  of  lake 
standing  on  end,  carpets  which  felt  soft  under  the  feet 
like  fine  moss,  and  gilt  and  carved  furniture,  which 
seamed  to  have  stepped  right  out  of  a  fairy  story.  It 
was  certainly  very  extraordinary ;  but  still  more  extra- 
ordinary was  the  kindness  and  consideration  with  which 
they  were  treated  by  Mr.  Tenney  and  his  wife.  Two 
pretty  rooms  were  assigned  to  them  on  the  fourth  floor 
of  the  house ;  little  Karen  was  dressed  in  beautiful 
cioth^s,  and  the  boys  themselves  got  each  a  new  suit, 
-^  like  of  which  they  had  never  had  on  their  backs  be- 
ir»^.  They  felt  like  young  princes,  and  if  they  could 
only  have  talked  with  the  kind  people  who  took  so  much 
trouble  on  their  account,  they  would  have  expressed  to 
them  their  gratitude,  and  perhaps,  too,  solicited  their 
aid  in  ascertaining  the  whereabouts  of  their  lost  father. 

Mr.  Tenney,  however,  guessed  their  thoughts,  and  did 


FIDDLE-JOHN"S  FAMILY.  269 

not  need  to  be  told  that  their  minds  were  torn  with 
anxiety.  He  first  procured  a  Norwegian  interpreter  from 
one  of  the  steamship  companies,  and  made  the  boys  de- 
scribe to  him  accurately  the  time  and  circumstances  of 
Fiddle-John's  disappearance.  He  wrote  letters  to  the 
emigration  commissioners,  inserted  advertisements  in  the 
newspapers,  and  set  the  whole  official  machinery  in 
motion  to  get  a  clew  by  which  to  unravel  the  mystery. 

Investigations  were  set  on  foot,  detectives  were  em- 
ployed, the  Castle  Garden  officials  were  questioned  and 
cross-examined,  but  there  was  no  one  who  had  the 
slightest  recollection  of  having  seen  Fiddle- John.  Thus 
three  days  passed.  Mr.  Tenney's  determination  to  ac- 
complish his  purpose  increased,  the  greater  the  obstacles 
were  that  he  encountered.  There  was  a  streak  of  ob- 
stiiaacy  in  his  temperament,  and  there  seemed  to  be  an 
impression  abroad  that  Mr.  Tenney  was  not  to  be  trifled 
with,  when  once  he  was  aroused,  and  that  may  have  been 
the  reason  why  Fiddle-John  grew  in  the  course  of  a  week 
to  be  a  kind  of  public  character,  and  people  asked  each 
other  jocosely  when  they  met  in  street  cars  or  in  hotel 
vestibules : 

"  How  do  you  do  ?  Seen  Fiddle-John  ?  " 
Someone,  it  appears,  had  seen  Fiddle-John,  and  that 
was  the  purser  of  the  steamboat  Ruckert,  whose  en- 
counter with  the  lamented  Garibaldi  was  yet  fresh  in 
the  boys'  memories.  He  came  late  one  evening  to  Mr. 
Tenney's  residence,  and  explained  to  him  that  a  man 
called  Fiddle-John  had  just  been  put  aboard  the  ship,  as 
a  lunatic,  to  be  taken  back  to  Norway  free  of  charge. 


*7o  ^ffK  MODERN-  VIKINGS. 

The  ship  was  to  sail  the  next  day  at  noon  ;  and  if  Mr. 
Tenney  would  hold  himself  responsible  for  the  conse- 
quences, the  purser  said  he  would  undertake  to  restore 
Fiddle-John  to  his  family  within — well,  within  five 
minutes. 

Mr.  Tenney  was  quite  ready  to  assume  all  the  respon- 
sibility in  the  matter,  and  accordingly  the  purser  raised 
the  window,  and  beckoned  to  a  carriage  which  had 
stopped  on  the  other  side  of  the  street.  The  carnage 
drove  up  before  the  door,  and  out  stepped  Fiddle-Joha 
But  oh,  how  miserable  he  looked  !  The  light  from  the 
gas-lamp  fell  upon  his  pale  face,  his  disordered  hair,  and 
his  tall,  stooping  figure.  He  was  led  carefully  up  the 
steps,  and  the  children  flew  into  his  arms,  hugging  him, 
kissing  him,  and  weeping  over  him.  He  sat  down  on  a 
low  stool,  and  stared  about  him  in  a  bewildered  fashion. 
But  gradually,  as  his  eyes  rested  upon  the  dear  familiar 
faces,  his  expression  softened,  the  wild  look  of  fright  de- 
parted from  his  face,  and  the  tears  began  slowly  to  course 
down  his  cheeks. 

"  O,  children  ! "  he  said  in  a  hoarse,  broken  voice ; 
"  I  thought  I  should  never  see  you  again  ! " 

He  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  and  wept  long  and 
silently. 

"  They  wanted  to  make  a  madman  of  me,"  he  sobbed ; 
"  and  they  almost  succeeded.  Whatever  I  did  or  said — 
it  made  no  difference — it  only  proved  that  I  was  mad. 
I  came  to  believe  it,  children,  and  the  thought  was  ter- 
rible to  me;  if  I  had  staid  another  day,  I  should  never 
have  recovered  my  reason." 


fIDDLE-JOHWS  FAMILY. 


VI. 


Five  years  have  passed  since  Fiddle-John  and  his  sons 
were  rescued  from  misery  by  Mr.  Tenney.  They  now 
live  in  the  porter's  lodge  of  Mr.  Tenney's  beautiful  Berk- 
shire country-seat ;  and  Fiddle-John,  with  all  his  eccen- 
tricities, makes  a  very  acceptable  porter.  The  little  stone 
cottage  at  the  gate  of  the  larger  villa  looks  very  pictu- 
resque with  the  green  vines  trailing  over  it,  and  it  is  very 
comfortably  and  prettily  furnished.  Little  Karen  is  now 
a  matronly  little  body,  with  a  strict  sense  of  order,  and 
many  housewifely  accomplishments.  She  goes  to  the 
public  school  in  the  morning,  but  studies  at  home  in  the 
afternoon,  and  keeps  her  father  company.  The  boys  are 
both  big  fellows  now,  and  they  are  as  good  Americans  as 
any  to  the  manner  born.  Truls  brags  of  American  enter- 
prise, and  the  blessings  of  democratic  institutions,  as  if 
every  drop  of  his  Norse  blood  had  become  naturalized. 
He  is  an  engineer,  and  earns  good  wages,  and  is  full  of 
hopefulness  for  the  future.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that 
his  sister  adores  him,  and  regards  him  as  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  men  of  the  century. 

Alf,  who  has  inherited  his  father's  handsome  face,  and 
incapacity  for  practical  concerns,  is  at  present  preparing 
to  enter  college.  Mr.  Tenney  is  much  interested  in  him, 
as  a  lad  of  unusual  ability  and  a  singular  sweetness  of 
character ;  and  it  is  owing  to  his  generosity  that  Alf  has 
been  able  to  follow  the  career  for  which  he  is  by  nature 


272  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

and  inclination  adapted.  He  has  his  father's  beautiful 
voice,  too,  and  makes  a  sensation  in  the  church  choir 
every  Sunday  when  he  sustains  the  lovely  tenor  solo  in 
the  anthems  "As  Pants  the  Hart,"  and  "  I  Know  that 
My  Redeemer  Liveth." 

He  is  a  rather  serious  fellow,  with  thoughtful  eyes, 
and  a  frank  and  open  countenance.  Some  think  he 
would  have  a  fine  career  as  a  clergyman,  but  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  tell  whether  his  inclination,  in  later  years,  will 
turn  in  that  direction.  His  father,  however,  does  all  in 
his  power  to  encourage  this  ambition,  and  it  is  not  un- 
likely that  his  hopes  may  some  day  be  fulfilled.  In  fact, 
it  is  Fiddle-John's  favorite  occupation  to  hope  and  dream 
about  the  future  of  his  sons. 

During  the  long  summer  afternoons  he  sits  in  the 
shadow  of  the  vines,  outside  of  his  cottage,  while  his 
daughter  reads  aloud  to  him  from  the  old  Norse  ballad 
books  which  he  yet  loves  so  dearly.  And  it  happens 
very  frequently,  then,  that  the  young  ladies  and  gentle- 
men who  are  visiting  at  the  neighboring  villas  come,  in 
a  company,  and  beg  him  to  sing  to  them.  They  throw 
themselves  down  in  easy  attitudes  upon  the  soft,  close- 
trimmed  lawn ;  and  their  bright  garments,  their  crimson 
sunshades,  and  their  fresh,  youthful  faces  make  a  fine 
picture  against  the  green  background  of  elms  and  chest- 
nut trees. 

To  the  gentle  and  guileless  minstrel  it  is  a  great  pleas* 
ure  to  see  these  gay  and  happy  creatures  ;  and  when  the 
young  girls  hang  upon  his  arms  and  urge  him  to 
his  eyes  beam  with  delight. 


FIDDLE- JOH^S  FAMILY.  273 

"Now,  do  sing,  Fiddle-John,"  they  coaxingly  say. 
"You  know  we  have  walked  miles  and  miles  to  hear 
your  voice.  And  here  is  a  young  lady  from  New  York, 
who  never  heard  a  Norse  song  in  all  her  life,  and 
is  disappointed,  because  you  look  so  nice  and  gentle, 
and  not  wild  and  savage  as  a  son  of  the  Vikings 
should." 

Fiddle-John  likes  this  kind  of  banter  very  well ;  and 
when,  finally,  he  yields  to  their  coaxing  and  lifts  up  his 
clear,  strong  voice,  singing  the  sad,  wild  ballads  of  his 
native  land,  there  falls  a  hush  upon  the  noisy  company, 
as  if  they  were  in  the  presence  of  a  renowned  artist. 
These  are  Fiddle-John's  happiest  moments.  And  it  was 
just  on  such  an  occasion  when,  on  a  beautiful  afternoon 
in  July,  he  had  been  entertaining  the  young  people  with 
his  songs,  that  a  swarthy-looking  Savoyard  walked  up 
before  his  door,  and  began  to  whip  up  a  bear  which 
danced  to  a  tune  from  "  II  Trovatore,"  played  upon  a 
v/heezy  hand-organ. 

"  Stop,  you  sacrilegious  brute  !"  said  one  of  the  young 
men,  addressing,  not  the  bear,  but  his  master  ;  "  we  have 
a  better  kind  of  music  here  than  your  asthmatic  organ 
can  produce." 

The  Savoyard,  being  apparently  well  accustomed  to 
this  manner  of  address,  swung  his  organ  across  his  back 
and  was  about  to  take  his  departure,  when  Karen, 
prompted  by  some  idle  impulse,  stepped  up  to  the  bear 
and  patted  it.  Then  a  sudden  change  came  over  the 
young  man's  countenance.  He  stared  for  a  moment  fix- 
edly at  the  little  girl. 
18 


274  THE  MODERN  VIKINGS. 

"  Take  care,  Carina  mia?  he  said,  with  a  smile  ;  "  that 
bear  is  a  real  one  !  " 

"  Annibale !  "  she  cried  in  surprise  ;  and,  to  be  sure,  it 
was  Annibale ! 

He  had  grown  five  years  older,  but  in  other  respects 
he  had  changed  but  little.  He  knew  but  very  little 
more  English  than  he  had  done  on  the  day  of  his  arrival, 
and  his  ambition  still  did  not  extend  beyond  hand-organs 
and  bears.  He  reaped  a  plentiful  harvest  of  coins  that 
night ;  but  that  was  owing  to  little  Karen,  and  not  to 
the  doleful  hand-organ.  She  ran  into  the  cottage  and 
spread  out  upon  the  lawn  a  rug,  made  out  of  a  small 
bear-skin.  "  Do  you  know  that,  Annibale  ?  "  she  cried. 

"  Garibaldi,  my  poor  Garibaldi ! "  exclaimed  the 
Savoyard,  while  the  tears  glittered  in  his  eyes ;  and  he 
stooped  down  and  caressed  the  furry  head. 

Now  the  curiosity  of  the  young  ladies  was  excited, 
and  the  whole  company  clamored  for  the  story  of  Anni- 
bale and  the  bear-skin.  They  all  seated  themselves  in  a 
ring  about  Fiddle-John,  and  he  told  the  story,  as  I  have 
told  it  to  you.  For  I  had  the  good  luck  to  be  one  of  the 
listeners. 


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